I Shall Believe
by drotuno
Summary: This is what happens when two really close friends, roommates, and needy people decide to make a 'friends with benefits' arrangement. This is what happens when words are said without thinking. This is what happens when you think you know someone. AH E/B
1. Chapter 1  Part 1

**A/N... So the holidays brought a short little idea to my head. This will most likely be only 2 chapters, but we'll see. **

**This is what happens when two really close friends, roommates, and needy people decide to make a 'friends with benefits' arrangement. This is what happens when words are said without thinking. This is what happens when you _think_ you know someone...**

**I own nothing of SM's work. I just really like to play with her characters. This rated M for language and citrusy goodness and adult decisions and situations.**

**Okay, pay attention to the dates...this goes from past to present quite often.**

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I Shall Believe – a Short Shot

Edward/Bella – AH/AU

~oOoOo~

**BELLA**

December 24, 2010...

I couldn't do it anymore. It was too hard. It meant too much to me. I could feel my heart shattering inside my chest as I watched the only man that truly mattered fucking flirt with two other women at the Cullen-Denali Enterprises Christmas party.

I should have never agreed to be his date, but we were the very closest of best friends, roommates, and now – God fucking help me – friends with benefits.

And that last new and disturbing title was the biggest mistake on my part, because despite the fact that he was my best friend's twin brother, one of the closest friends I'd ever had, and that he was just perfectly gorgeous in every way – inside and out – I had wanted him from the first minute I'd met him. I should have known it wouldn't end well.

_~o~_

_January 2005..._

_Alice Cullen was the new girl, coming into Forks High as a tiny little thing, nervous and unsure of everything, but happy in nature. I was the loner, the bookworm, the nerd, but I wore my titles with pride, knowing that I was above all the bullshit, the backstabbing and the drama of the idiotic people that I attended classes with, not to mention that my father was the Chief of Police in town. That alone made me the social pariah of Forks._

_When she was almost sucked in by Lauren Mallory and Jessica Stanley, the two biggest and meanest bitches in the history of that school, I'd just had to warn her. Just a friendly, "Watch your back when it comes to those two," was all I'd said. And we'd been inseparable since._

_Her fraternal twin brother, Edward, on the other hand, walked the school with grace and calm and a surety of himself that I'd never seen before in a seventeen year old boy. _

_He was not just handsome, because he was truly hot; he was beautiful. His hair was dark, with these unusual reddish highlights, and it was always casually messy – though in reality, he couldn't do a thing with it, so he stopped fighting it. He was tall and lean and athletic, but he was also smart and sweet and so very polite and kind. He was a quiet, introspective soul, but could get just as silly with me and Alice – well, when he wasn't dating some hideous, shallow bitch from school – when I stayed at their house on the weekends. _

_It wasn't uncommon to see us falling over each other with laughter over some silly game we were playing or movie we were watching or rumor that we'd heard at school. _

_And he was the perfect lab partner in Biology, both of us way ahead of the rest of the fools in our class. He was just as likely to debate the characters from Romeo and Juliet or politics as he was to argue which Adam Sandler movie was funnier – _Happy Gilmore _or _The Wedding Singer_._

_Edward was also so fucking talented when it came to...well, shit...everything. He could play the piano and fix a computer and conquer Halo on the Xbox. All with this sweet, crooked smile that just broke your heart._

_~o~_

December 24, 2010...

"Bells," I heard behind me, and I turned to see Esme, Alice and Edward's mother.

I hugged her tightly.

She was just as beautiful and quiet as her son, and they shared the same color hair, but passed her loving, happy nature onto her daughter honestly. I'd never had a mother growing up – just my father, Charlie – and she was as close to one as I'd ever get. I loved her fiercely.

"Hey, Esme." I smiled, but it was forced, and she turned to see what I'd been staring at.

"I'm glad you came. Alice wasn't sure if you'd make it," she said sweetly, hugging me again. She winced as I practically shook in her arms. She looked at her son, looking back to me and cupping my face. "Boys are stupid, Bella. He'll see it soon, I promise. He may be my son, but he's no different than his father. Carlisle had to sow his oats in college, and I sat back and waited. It wasn't easy."

"I can't wait anymore," I whispered, fighting my tears, because she _knew_. She'd always known my feelings, even when I never said a word, not even to Alice. "I've been waiting since I was seventeen."

"Oh, my sweetie, please don't give up on him," she sighed, catching my tears before they could ruin my makeup. "You're such a beautiful girl, and if you don't think he sees it, then you're so wrong."

I huffed a laugh bitterly, because I was aware that he thought I was pretty. He told me so all the time. He'd told me the first time we'd had sex, and I'd believed every word. Hell, I'd believe anything he told me, because I was desperate for him to mean it, but he didn't. Our new "arrangement" was just two people scratching each other's itches.

And as much as I'd take anything that he gave me, I was slowly dying inside, because I knew he was just looking for something better to come along. But I'd wanted him too much to decline his offer.

_~o~_

_May 2010..._

"_Coffee Bean, I'm home," he called, and from the balcony of our apartment, I could hear his keys hit the kitchen counter._

_We were the perfect roommates. He was clean. I was clean. He liked to do laundry, and I loved to cook. We were quiet when we needed to study, and we could drink and blow off steam with laughter and beer and pizza, but it all boiled down to ice cream. A bad day required an entire tub of it._

_We were both in our last year at UW when we'd decided to live together, but he'd already started his internship at his father's company. We'd become roommates when Alice had met her boyfriend, Jasper, and moved in with him almost immediately, leaving me with a huge apartment and too many bills._

_Edward had offered to take her place, because he hated living on campus. It was a win/win. And it had worked out for almost a year and a half._

"_Please don't call me that, _Eddie_," I growled from the lounge chair in the corner, looking up when I heard his deep, sexy chuckle from the sliding door. _

_God, he was fucking perfect, even after a day at the office. With perfectly tailored gray pants, a crisp, white, button down with the sleeves rolled up, and a thin, loosened, dark gray tie, he was just gorgeous. He'd filled out even more since high school, working out just about three times a week and running every morning. He was still lean, but now toned and sexy and just... Gah! _

_I needed to be put out of my misery. Seriously._

"_You are my Coffee Bean. That won't ever change," he teased, falling down in the lounger next to mine._

_Coffee Bean had been my nickname since Senior year at Forks High, when Edward and his best friend, Emmett, said that was what color my hair and eyes were – the color of coffee beans. It made it even funnier that we were in Seattle at the time, ordering from fucking Starbucks. Every time he called me that, I told him not to, because that was just...us._

"_How was your day, dear?" he asked the age-old domestic question that started the first day he'd moved in, tugging the book I was reading from out of my hands._

"_Fine," I sighed, holding my hand out for my book._

"_You don't sound fine," he noted, sitting up and facing me. We could read each other better than anyone. Even his twin couldn't read her brother the way I could – or he me. "What did Jake do?"_

_I snorted, rolling my eyes. What had Jake _not _done? He was my attempt at a life, and it wasn't working. I had met him in college, and he was good looking, sweet, but so very needy and pushy and jealous of Edward something awful. And I didn't want much from him at all, except maybe the sex, and even that was... Eh. I kept him at arm's length and blamed it on my independent female nature, but that wasn't my problem at all. _

_My problem was Edward. And as I looked up at him, I knew that no relationship would ever be as comfortable as the one I had with him. _

"_Jake...finally walked away, Edward..."_

_He frowned, picking up my hand and playing with my fingers. "I'm sorry, Bean."_

"_It's fine, really. I just don't think anything was...there, you know?"_

_He smiled in sympathy, nodding slowly. Edward had gone through a few strange relationships himself, so I knew that he got it, that he understood. But I knew he would never understand _why_ my relationship had fizzled. _

_I hated being with Jake, because all I could imagine was Edward. It wasn't fair to Jake or to myself._

"_Where's Frankie?" he asked, looking around the balcony for my cat._

_I smiled, lifting up the throw that was on my legs. My little Siamese was curled tightly around himself on my lap, opening one beautiful blue eye to see why his little bubble was being disturbed._

"_Hey, bud," Edward chuckled, letting the little brown paw latch onto his finger for a moment._

"_Hmmm?" Frankie answered, shifting a little and curling up tighter. _

_Edward and I had found him at the pet store downtown a month prior. He was in a rescued litter, and I'd fallen in love with him immediately, pouting for _days_ because Edward didn't really want an animal in our house. And even though it was my apartment first, he did pay half the bills and would have to deal with hair and litter and feeding him. But Edward had finally caved, and I'd come home to see the little guy in his arms two days later. We named him Frankie, because the blue eyes reminded us of Frank Sinatra. _

_That was the first time I'd planted a kiss on my best friend. Bam! Right on the lips, but neither of us spoke of it._

"_He's the only man that truly loves me," I joked, but it felt like the truth of the century._

"_Bean, please don't," Edward pleaded. "We're both single...let's go out...or eat ice cream and order pizza. I'm glad Jake's gone. He wasn't good for you."_

"_And just who _is_ good for me, Edward?" I sighed, looking out over the Seattle skyline._

_Edward looked away, down at his feet, at Frankie, but never anywhere near my gaze. Finally, he looked up and said, "Let's get drunk."_

_~oOo~_

"_Will you miss Jake?" Edward asked a few hours later._

_We were somewhere between sober and comfortably numb. We weren't trashed, but the edge had been taken off._

"_No," I snorted, dipping the spoon into the Cookies n Cream ice cream and feeding it to Edward. "Is that terrible?"_

"_I don't miss Victoria," he chuckled, licking his perfect lips and looking over at me._

_We were on the sofa, sharing a tub of ice cream and occasionally doing a shot of vodka. Though the latter of which wasn't as important to us as the former. Ice cream fixed everything. It always had._

"_I don't know why," I sighed, taking my own bite of the frozen perfection. "She was gorgeous, Edward."_

"_She was scary," he countered with a laugh, leaning his head back, but turning towards me. "She was...insane...in bed."_

_I watched my best friend blush a bit, but hold his hand out for the spoon._

"_Insane must not be good then," I teased, feeding him again. "And here I thought all those sounds coming from your room were good." I chuckled, but he had no idea that I died a little every time she spent the night._

"_Uh no...I think I have scars," he snorted._

"_Oh, damn..."_

"_Yeah. What about Jake?" His grin was hilarious, and I just about choked on the spoon._

"_Big ego...tiny um, other things," I giggled, blushing red myself. "And he pawed at me. It was rough and awful. And what the fuck was I thinking?" I asked him, turning to face him and meeting an unreadable gaze._

_Edward shrugged, not saying anything, but took the spoon and started to feed me. It was the way we worked. We shared fucking everything._

"_You probably needed to get some," he chuckled, feeding me another spoonful, but his eyes were on my mouth._

"_Uh...yeah," I snickered. "And I still came away unsatisfied. What happened with Irina?"_

_He grimaced. "She became all clingy and shit. She sent me fucking flowers at work. What chick does that?"_

"_I wouldn't. That's stupid," I sighed, sitting forward and grabbing the vodka. "Want one?"_

"_Yeah," he said, sitting up and taking the shot I'd poured. "Let's toast. To...um...satisfaction."_

_I laughed, shaking my head and tossing my shot back. "I doubt it exists, Edward."_

"_Oh, Bean, but it does..." He chuckled carnally. "I should show you some time."_

_And there it was. The elephant that lived in the room that only I could see and Edward was oblivious to. _

"_You should," I joked, but his head shot up to meet my gaze._

"_Really?"_

"_I know I don't meet the standards of beauty that you're used to, but..." I shrugged._

"_I never understood that about you, Bean. You're fucking gorgeous. Why do you put yourself down all the fucking time?"_

_Edward got a potty mouth when alcohol hit his system. It was funny and a God blessed turn on at the same time._

"_Don't," I sighed, starting to get up. _

_He stopped me, tugging at my hand, but I lost my balance falling into his lap. "I should prove to you how beautiful you are. Can I?" he whispered, brushing the hair out of my face, his light touch causing me to tremble._

_His question sounded so sincere, but I knew him. I knew how he treated women. He didn't want commitment or clingy or _love_. But damn it, if I didn't want my turn, my share._

"_What are you asking, Edward?" I asked him with narrowed eyes._

"_Just friends...helping each other in an unfortunate situation... Ice cream makes me horny, Bean."_

_I wanted to see that there was more in his vivid, but darkening green eyes. I thought I saw hope and want that matched my own, but I knew he could play a woman for something that he wanted. I'd seen him do it. I'd stood by and watched it more times than I could count when we all went out to dance or dinner or drinking. He was a flawless flirting machine. He was never turned down if he locked his sights on some unaware woman._

"_No strings?" I asked._

"_None."_

"_No commitment?"_

"_Well, I'd rather not be a sloppy second," he chuckled, and to me, it sounded nervous. "How about this... How about we take care of our needs...unless we find someone we want more with..."_

_Yeah, my heart broke a little on that last statement. He didn't know that my heart was already his, though crumbled and wrecked as the case was._

_Maybe it was the vodka that made me answer, or hell, maybe it was the ice cream. Or maybe it was the arousal that I could currently feel beneath my legs as I sat in his lap. All I knew was, looking at him, being that close, seeing him ask of me something that I'd been wanting for so damn long... Well, I just couldn't say no._

"_I'm not a whore, Edward," I whispered. "So if...I mean, don't 'cheat' on me. If you find someone, then just tell me."_

"_I would _never_," he growled, looking like I'd slapped him. "Bean, you're my best friend. You've always come first. I swear."_

_That was the first night we'd had sex. And Holy Hell, he was amazing and giving and sensual and fucking huge. All the things my previous two lovers hadn't been. I had awoken in my bed alone, but I'd never felt more beautiful than after one night with Edward Cullen._

_~o~_

December 24, 2010...

"Here, you look like you could use it," Rose snickered, handing me a flute of champagne. "I think you're making a mistake, Bells."

"I know I am," I sighed, sipping the bubbly drink. There was a part of me that just wanted to down like forty glasses, just to make everything go away.

Rose knew about mine and Edward's "arrangement." She knew, because she was engaged to his best friend, Emmett. She knew, because she caught us kissing like wild animals at Cullen-Denali in the copy room one day when I'd gone to take him his cell phone, which he'd forgotten at home. She knew, but she would never betray us to anyone. She was awesome like that.

She'd started at Cullen-Denali in the accounting department, but when Emmett started his internship at the same time Edward did, it was all over. They were perfect for each other; perfectly opposite, but they balanced each other like nothing I'd ever seen. While she was stunning and beautiful and calm and snarky, Emmett was like a big, little boy, all happy and fun-loving and boisterous.

"I'm not saying that to hurt you, sweetie," she said, taking my shoulders and making me look at her. "I know...I can see that you're in love with him. I just don't want you to...fall." She grimaced, but let me go when I didn't say anything.

What was there to say? She was right. We'd been having sex for seven months, and I wanted more, because I was hidden away and a secret in the closet. We, or Edward, really, was too afraid to tell anyone.

And I didn't say anything, because Edward was walking our way.

"Bean, dance with me," he said, holding his hand out and guiding me out to the large dance floor.

He looked amazing in a tux. All crazy hair, but sharp lines of a black suit, wearing a smile that was melting half the women in the large hall.

I glanced over his shoulder, seeing the two women he'd been flirting with, or talking to, glaring back at me with pure hatred. "Tanya wants you. What are you doing with me?" I asked, placing one hand on his shoulder and the other in his.

He was warm, and smelled so good – like cinnamon and expensive cologne that just drew you in.

He snorted, rolling his eyes. "Tanya is a vulture, Bean. She wants to align my name with her family name. Like she's some sort of princess. She is _not_ a fucking princess, trust me."

I laughed, shaking my head. Tanya was Garrett Denali's daughter and that relationship had been forced at Edward for as long as I could remember. While Tanya was all for it, Edward had always pushed her away. Which shocked me, really, because she was stunning, with strawberry blonde hair and legs that went on for days.

"Besides, you're my date," he said, pulling me closer. "Did I tell you that you're the prettiest girl here tonight, Bella?"

My laugh died, but I nodded. Again, I felt like a fill in, a waste of time, or something he was playing with. But when he used my real name, I could melt into a puddle right there on the floor.

I was so fucked, because Rose was right. I was completely and irrevocably in love with him.

There was a tap on my shoulder, and I turned to see Carlisle Cullen, looking just as handsome as his son. I smiled at him, because despite the fact that he ran a multi-billion dollar corporation, he was like the sweetest man, ever.

"May I cut in?" he asked sweetly, his blue eyes twinkling.

"He doesn't get a say," I laughed, elbowing a chuckling Edward and taking his father's hand.

"Fine," Edward sighed, backing away with his hands raised in surrender. But I frowned when he was scooped up by some young, pretty little brunette that I recognized from the front desk of Cullen-Denali. Gina...or Gianna or some shit.

"I'm glad you came with him, Bells," Carlisle sighed, watching his son from over my shoulder. "Victoria was scary last year."

I barked a laugh. If he only knew...

"No, I mean it," he said, locking gazes with me. "I know Garrett wants Edward with Tanya, but you're so much better for him. You've known him forever, and you keep him grounded."

"We're just friends, Carlisle," I lied the same old lie we told everyone, because our "arrangement" was just too sticky for public knowledge, especially to his parents.

"No, you aren't."

I winced, but laid my head on his shoulder. "Yeah, we are. It's all we'll ever be."

"Then make him see. Take it away and see how he reacts."

I pulled back to study a man that I loved just as much as my own father. "What do you..."

"He's spoiled, Bella. He's had everything he's ever wanted handed to him. Teach him. I know you can." He paused, looking over to Esme, who was laughing in Emmett's arms as he twirled her around the dance floor. "She did. She walked away from me, and suddenly, I knew what I wanted."

I winced, but nodded. "I don't know how. He's my sounding board, my therapist, my best friend..."

"And you're his... He knows you'll always be there."

That was the problem. I wanted to be there for Edward, because I needed him there for me. I needed to be able to come home from the publishing house after a bad day and eat ice cream with him. I needed him to come home from his father's company and want to tell me all about it. I needed to curl up on the couch and watch movies as he rubbed my feet. I needed him to laugh with me and make all the bad things disappear. And I needed him to save me from his sister when her questions exploded from her at rapid fire speed.

I nodded at Carlisle, but only said, "I need some air."

"Sure, Bells," he acquiesced, kissing my cheek sweetly and letting me go.

I made my way to the balcony of the hotel.

~oOo~

"I think Jazz is going to propose soon," Alice babbled in my ear.

We couldn't be more different, but God, I loved her with a sickness. She was my up when I was down. I could lose myself in her happy nature, and she didn't force me to be like her. She just...was.

We were back out on the balcony, because Edward had been talking to some of his colleagues from the advertising department. Jasper was with him, because he wanted in. Alice's boyfriend was an amazing artist, and had just recently applied with Edward, hoping to get a leg up.

"That's good, Ali," I sighed, not really looking at her, but watching her brother laugh and smile at Gina or Gianna or some shit. "Jazz is a good guy. I'm happy for you," I said, but frowned when the girl grabbed Edward by the collar and dragged him outside.

The girl was more than a little tipsy, and they had no idea that Alice and I were out there with them, until she planted a kiss on Edward, and then my breath caught.

And I knew. I knew I just couldn't fucking do it anymore. I couldn't be in the backseat any-fucking-more. I couldn't do it, because he would eventually find something better, and I would end up left behind, alone, and brokenhearted.

"I need to go," I breathed to Alice, who was wincing at the whole situation. She may not have known what Edward and I had been up to as of late, but she wasn't stupid as to my feelings.

"Bells..."

No," I said, barely keeping it together. "I need to go, Ali..."

It was then that Edward realized that he wasn't alone, his head snapping up. "Bean," he gasped, his mouth hanging open.

"I'm gonna go," I told him, not looking at him as I left the balcony.

He caught up to me at the front of the hotel as I waited for a cab. "Coffee Bean, wait, please," he begged, and I just couldn't look at him.

"Don't call me that," I whispered without any authority, stepping towards the yellow taxi that came to a halt in front of me. "I have a headache, Edward. I just... need to go."

"It's not what you think, Bean," he tried to explain, his hand running through his hair. "She...I mean..."

I swirled in front of him, pissed off beyond imagination. "I begged you not to treat me like a whore, Edward. If you want her...take her. But this…" I motioned between us, "…isn't a revolving fucking door."

With that, I dove into the cab, slamming the door and allowing the tears to finally fall.

~oOo~

**EDWARD**

December 24, 2010...

Shit, fuck, damn it all to hell! I'd just royally fucked up. I ran a hand through my hair as I made my way back into the hotel.

I looked around the large room that was decorated beautifully for Christmas, and suddenly, it seemed duller now that she'd left. Bella seemed to make everything, well, better. Now that she was gone, and mad at me on top of it, I just didn't want to stay at the party any longer, but I knew my dad would kill me if I just...ran.

"You should seriously have your ass kicked," Rose growled, handing me some champagne. "I knew you'd just fuck this up somehow. I should tell Emmett. He loves her like a little sister."

"Don't," I begged, knowing that everyone would kick my ass for how I'd treated Bella the last few months. I should kick my own ass, because it was my brilliant idea to begin with.

But God, I'd just wanted her. I'd wanted her for as long as I could remember, but I was too stupid or shy or fucking proud to say anything.

_~o~_

_January 2005..._

"_Edward," my twin said, beaming like it was the best day ever. "Meet Bella. She's in our grade."_

_I took a look at the brown, doe eyed beauty and just about fell over. She was so pretty, and blushing so sweetly, but she was quiet and shy. She had these long, loose curls that hung down her back, and my fingers twitched to know how they felt in my hands._

_But one look at my sister's pleading face made me step away, step back, because my twin didn't make friends easily, and they seemed perfect for each other. Where Ali was bouncy and hyper, Bella was calm and composed. It _worked_ for them. I didn't want to mess that up._

"_It's nice to meet you, Bella," I said. I sat with them at lunch, and it totally became a daily thing. _

_The problem hadn't been honoring my sister's wishes; it was staying away from Bella herself, because she was amazing and smart and funny and so fucking beautiful, she was heartbreaking to look at. _

_Soon, it became habit to fight my feelings for her, because, well, she was my sister's best friend and now my own best friend. As we moved on to college, taking a lot of the same classes, we just became that much closer. I totally didn't want to screw up the best friendship that I'd ever had._

_March 2009..._

_One of the happiest days of my life came when I offered to move in with Bella in my sister's place. I gave some stupid, idiotic excuse about helping her out with bills and rent and saving me from living on campus, but in reality, I just wanted to be closer to her. I wanted to protect her from whoever would have moved in instead. At least, that's what I told myself._

_It became increasingly more difficult to date around Bella. She was dating, which killed me slowly, but a man had needs, and sometimes it covered my real feelings._

_She was everything I looked forward to every day. I didn't date as much as I led Bella to believe. In fact, a night on the sofa with a tub of ice cream was better than a date with some random attractive woman to me any day._

_~o~_

December 24, 2010...

"Edward, come dance with me," Gianna purred, tugging at my hand, and I rolled my eyes internally at her flirtatious behavior. I didn't want her. Hell, I hadn't even wanted to kiss her, but she had surprised me on the balcony.

"I'd rather not, Gianna," I sighed, pulling away from her.

She was young and very pretty, and I saw that I'd just broken her heart, but there wasn't much I could do about it. It was better now, than later, like Victoria or Irina.

"You're a lovely girl," I told her, "but I'm just...not interested." I watched her walk away, brushing past my mother, who was shooting daggers my way.

She wasn't alone. My sister, Rose, Jasper, and my father were all looking at me like I was the devil incarnate.

"Where's Bean?" Emmett asked from behind me. "And why is everyone looking at you that way?"

I snorted, but looked up at my closest friend – well, male friend, anyway. "Because Bella left."

"I thought she was your date, Ed."

"She was. She wasn't feeling well, that's all," I lied smoothly.

"Well, why are you here?" he growled, looking at me like I was crazy. "You know how she gets when she's sick, Eddie. You always take care of her."

"She doesn't want me to this time," I sighed, running another nervous hand through my hair. I was _thisclose_ to just telling him all about it, but the look on Rose's face told me different. She was right; Emmett would totally kick my ass for what I'd done.

He'd been protective of Bella since Senior year.

_~o~_

_April 2006..._

"_You think I should ask Bean to the prom?" I'd asked him as we walked from our last class to the parking lot of the school. God, I was so ready to be with her that I was almost sick with nerves._

"_Hell, no," he growled, punching my arm. "You're a whore, Ed. I saw what happened after you broke up with Lauren. You do that to Coffee Bean, and we're gonna have issues, dude."_

_I winced, shaking my head. "It wasn't what you think, Em. Lauren was jealous of Bella."_

"_Jealous because you're _friends_. You can't fuck that up, man. Seriously."_

_Emmett, as big a goof as he was, was a little oblivious to the world around him. Lauren had broken up with me because I told her I wouldn't stop hanging out with Bella. She had been crazed with jealousy of our friendship and wanted me to stop seeing her. And I just couldn't do it. I needed Bella. I craved time with her, even then._

"_Bean doesn't date," Emmett chuckled, shaking his head. "She's way too into school in order to get the fuck outta here."_

"_I know, but..." I gave up at that point. My reputation for dating had reached even my closest of friends. I'd dated Lauren, yes. I'd even had sex with her, but she was the only one at school I'd gone that far with. Other dates had just fed rumors, and who was I to stop them?_

_And Emmett was right about one thing. Bella didn't date, or hadn't since I'd met her a year prior. She'd already been accepted to UW with a full scholarship, and I was following right behind her, because even though Harvard had accepted me, there wasn't a chance in hell I was moving across the country away from her or my sister. It would have been like losing a limb._

_So I decided to wait. Maybe in college, away from Forks High, I could do something about my feelings for Bella..._

_~o~_

December 24, 2010...

"I should go," I sighed, looking at Alice and my mother.

"Maybe you should," Alice sneered, barely able to contain the violence that was most likely building within her. She was tiny, but damn, if she wasn't a hellion when she was pissed.

"You'll be at the house in the morning for presents and Christmas dinner that afternoon?" my mother verified before giving me a hug. "And if Bella isn't going to Charlie's, then you bring her with you."

"Yes, ma'am," I said, nodding, but the knot in my stomach tightened and twisted. I had a feeling that I'd screwed up so badly, she wouldn't actually be home when I got there.

The cab ride was torture, as all scenarios played out in my head. I'd let Gianna kiss me, because I wasn't paying attention. I'd let Victoria stay over when we were dating, because I wanted to make Bella jealous. And I'd dated Irina, because Bella was dating Jake, and I was sick with jealousy.

Everything I'd done had been a mistake. Every date, every woman I'd picked up when we all went out, every woman that I'd touched that wasn't my Coffee Bean, had left me aching and empty.

The biggest mistake of all was the suggestion that we become friends with benefits seven months ago, and _not_ telling her why.

_~o~_

_May 2010..._

"_No strings?"_

"_None," I said, shaking my head, but God, I just wanted her so badly. _

"_No commitment?" she asked, raising a dangerous eyebrow at me._

_My heart sank, because she thought she knew me, but she didn't. I was so committed to her that it wasn't even funny._

"_I don't want to be a sloppy second," I joked, but in reality, I wanted exclusivity with her. I wanted her heart, mind, body, and soul, but I knew she'd balk at the idea of ..._more._ So I added the bullshit about finding someone else._

"_I'm not a whore, Edward," she whispered, and I gasped at her. "So if...I mean, don't 'cheat' on me. If you find someone, then just tell me."_

"_I would _never_," I vowed, thinking she had no idea just how high of a pedestal I'd placed her on, and it was insulting that she would think I would be anything other than honored to make love to her. "Bean, you're my best friend. You've always come first. I swear."_

_And damn, if that wasn't the truth. Every relationship I'd ever tried to have had suffered due to my closeness with Bella._

_That night, I ravished her. It felt like a religious experience being with the one person I'd been dreaming about for years. I wanted to make sure she felt taken care of, because I knew that idiot Jake didn't know a G-spot from a hole in his head. He was a fumbling idiot._

_With a small dick, according to my Bean._

_The only regret I'd had that night was not staying with her until morning. I wanted to hold her until she woke up in my arms, but I knew my feelings, my heart, my soul would be right there on my face for her to see, and I wasn't sure how she'd react, so I had left as soon as she'd drifted off._

_~o~_

December 24, 2010...

"Coffee Bean, please let me in," I begged at her bedroom door.

"Don't fucking call me that, Edward. And leave me alone, please?"

Tears filled my eyes as my forehead thumped against her door. "It's not what you think, Bean. Gianna kissed _me_. I didn't know..."

"It doesn't matter," she mumbled. "I just can't anymore, Edward. I just can't sit back and wait for you to...find something better."

"I'm sorry, Bella. It's my fault. All of it," I sighed, wiping at my face. "Please let me in... My mom wants you to come over tomorrow..."

"I'm going to Charlie's," she growled, and I knew her well enough that I could practically see her rolling her eyes. "And just... give me time."

"Well, the offer still stands, Bean..."

"I know. Tell them..."

"Yeah..."

"Yeah," she sighed, and I could have sworn I heard her sniffle.

"Bella?"

"Yeah..."

"It's always been you, I swear. Everything I did was for you. I just... I mean, for the record, Bean, there's _nothing_ better than you," I sighed, finally walking away.

~oOo~

December 30, 2010...

A fucking week! Bella had avoided me brilliantly for a fucking week. And I was losing my ever loving mind. How did two people that lived together, for Christ's sake, go a week without even laying eyes on each other?

I needed to talk to her. I needed to lounge on the couch with her, watching silly ass movies. I wanted to hear how her week was at work, and I wanted to beg her to take me back. I wanted my ice cream with her, damn it!

I'd left her silly notes and sad notes on her bedroom door, always finding them gone, but never seeing her. I stayed home one morning, just to catch her on her way to work, but I found out that she had just woken up earlier and bolted from the apartment. I texted her more times than I'd care to admit with, "I'm sorry, please talk to me." But all I got in return was silence.

I took today off, hoping to catch her when she came home from work, because if I had to sit on her, we were going to have this shit out. I even moved my car, so she would think I wasn't home. By God, the silence would end.

Not that anyone else was silent, because now, everyone knew.

Rose snapped at me on a daily basis, and had finally ratted me out to Emmett, who punched me solidly in the jaw, telling me to fix it. Alice said she wasn't going to speak to me until Bella did. My own mother told me I was spoiled and needed to learn this lesson, that I couldn't use everyone to get what I wanted.

My father called me to his office for a meeting. He told me that I needed to figure out what I really wanted, because he was tired of defending me to his wife and daughter.

I wanted Bella. And I told him that. I didn't want anything else, but she was the one person who wouldn't even see me, who wouldn't even accept my calls at her job.

When I finally heard her key in our door, I set Frankie, who had been happily sleeping on my chest, onto the sofa. She was on the phone when she walked in.

"What you mean he wasn't...at...work?" she growled, coming to a complete standstill. "Never mind, Rose...he's here. No, I'll talk to you later..." She ended the call, setting her phone, keys, and purse on the counter, along with a bag from the store.

God, she was such a sight for sore eyes, I could barely breathe.

"Hey," I whispered, standing up slowly.

"Hi," she sighed, slipping an unreadable expression over her face. She was so hurt. I could read her like no one else. She masked anything that would make her feel weak. "What happened to your face, Edward?"

"Emmett," I said, leaning against the wall. "He punched me."

"What on earth for?" she growled, and I couldn't help but smile at her protective nature.

"For you."

She tsked and then rolled her eyes. "Rose shouldn't have told him, but he figured it out, I think. Look, Edward... I'm tired...and I don't..."

"Feel well," I ended for her. It was always her excuse when she was avoiding something. "Just...hear me out, Coffee Bean. Please? And if you want to lock yourself away in your room, then so be it."

"Don't call me that," she sighed, walking into the kitchen and grabbing a spoon and the bag on the counter. "Fine, but I need ice cream."

I nodded, trying not to eyeball the tub in her hands, but as always, once we settled on the sofa, she spoon fed me the first bite. "Cookies n Cream again? I thought your new love was Moose Tracks?" I teased, licking my lips.

She just shrugged and took a bite for herself.

"Um," I started, frowning that her eyes were on the coffee table and not me. "There's a New Year's Eve party tomorrow night, and my parents want you to come. It's at their house."

"Right, because the last party worked out so well. I'll call Esme later and decline."

"No, Bean," I said, turning her to face me. "Please don't. I didn't mean for that to happen. God, you have no fucking idea how...proud I was to have you there with me. No fucking clue. That girl...Gina or Gianna or some shit," I said, but stopped when Bella snorted and shook her head. "She was drunk and just...did it...I didn't want it. I only want...you," I finally admitted softly.

Bella pursed her lips together, but shoved another bite of ice cream into my mouth and then her own.

"God, it sounds so real coming from you," she snorted, slamming the tub down on the table. "I can't believe I listened to you. I can't believe I fell for it." She looked at me, tears brimming in her sweet, brown eyes. "This shit ends now, because you have more power than you deserve. I've loved you since I was seventeen fucking years old, Edward. I've watched you ignore me, flaunt women in front of me, and I can't do it anymore. I just can't. I allowed this...thing between us, because I just for once...wanted you to want me."

She started to stand, but she hiccuped a sob. I pulled her into my lap before she could fall. She fought me for like a second, before she collapsed into heartbreaking tears on my shoulder. I couldn't say anything. She was fucking killing me.

How did I tell her that I'd felt the same way? How did I explain that most of the time, I was full of shit when I flirted with women and nothing ever came of it? I'd just wanted to feel normal, because wanting her made me feel desperate when I couldn't have her. How did I tell her that this whole friends with benefits thing was the best and dumbest idea that I'd ever had, because all I wanted was to know what it was like to love her?

"Hey," I whispered against her hair. "Please don't cry, Coffee Bean."

"Don't call...me that," she hiccuped again.

I couldn't help but smile, because she'd never known the real reason behind that name.

"I can't _not_ call you that, Bella," I chuckled, but wiped away a tear with the back of my hand. "Do you know why I call you Coffee Bean? And it's not because of the color of your hair and eyes," I sighed, closing my eyes. "That's Emmett's reason, not mine."

She pulled back to look at me, and I wiped her tears away with my thumbs. "Why?"

"I call you Coffee Bean because you're my addiction, Bella," I confessed softly. "I couldn't _be_ without you. When I met you, Alice needed a friend, so I backed off, but I couldn't really leave you alone. When we were seniors, I wanted to be more, but they stopped me, because they thought I would just use you. But...Bean...B-bella, I was accepted to Harvard, and chose UW because of _you_. The mere thought of moving that far away from you made me crazy, Bella."

She gasped, her hand covering her mouth and more tears welling up.

"See? Addictions...Coffee Bean."

~oOo~

**BELLA**

"No, you're lying," I said, getting up from his lap. "You...you wouldn't...not for me. You never showed anything. You _dated_..."

"So did you," he countered, standing in front of me. "I hated Jake with an all consuming disgust."

"Victoria...Irina..."

"Made me choose...they made me choose them or you, Bean," he said, shrugging. "I told you. You always come first. Every girl I've ever introduced you to was jealous of you. They didn't get it. And they were right to be jealous, because everything they did, I compared them to you."

"Edward..." I groaned, putting my face in my hands. "James...Jake...they said it, but I didn't believe them. They said you wanted me, but I thought they were just jealous of our friendship."

"That's because I threatened both of them within an inch of their lives," he chuckled, folding his arms across his chest. "They saw right through me, even when I couldn't admit it to myself."

He sat down hard on the edge of the sofa, his face pained as his hands wrecked his hair. "God, Bean. I'm so fucking sorry. I'm not sorry for having the most...glorious opportunity to make love to you, but for the way I did it. I should have told you. I just couldn't fight it anymore."

"You didn't want to kiss Gina or Gianna or some shit?"

He snorted, rolling his eyes. "God, no!" He shook his head and pulled me between his legs. "Are you fucking kidding me? I had the most beautiful woman there! What would I need her for?"

"You aren't looking for someone else, are you?"

He grinned, blushing slightly and looking only at my hands in his. "Uh...no. I was really happy with our...situation. It was fucking perfect."

"I wasn't looking, either," I giggled, sniffling at the same time.

His head snapped up from my hands to my face. "Really?"

"Really. Why would I look? We're so...weirdly perfect together. Do have any idea how awful it's been avoiding you..._and_ ice cream this week?" I smiled down at him.

"I missed ice cream," he whispered, looking up at me with beautiful green eyes that were filled with remorse and hope and something I was afraid to acknowledge.

Though his one statement said it all, because ice cream fixed everything with us. It was an exclusively Edward and Bella thing. Alice was lactose intolerant.

"I missed you." I sighed, looking out the sliding glass doors. "I'm not...me without you..."

"Me, either, Coffee Bean."

The name meant something else now, and that was just one more thing to adjust to. I studied his face, but let go of him and gave myself distance.

"Edward...I can't lose my best friend. This week sucked, but I don't know if we can go back to the way it was before." I looked out the sliding glass doors, my forehead pressing to the cold glass as it rained outside.

"I don't...want it like it was before," Edward said, suddenly right behind me, his forehead bumping the back of my head. "I want it all, Bean. I want to take you out, to let everyone know that we're for real. We are for real, right?"

"I am," I sobbed against the glass, watching my own breath fog up the window. I closed my eyes when his warmth enveloped me, his arms wrapping around me.

"I am, too," he sighed into my hair, placing kisses to my head. "Please, Bean. Please let me show you how beautiful you are to me."

I smiled through my tears, remembering his words from the first night we'd had sex.

"You're everything to me, Bella. Just...fucking everything," he groaned, pulling me tight against his chest. "I was just too stupid to tell you..."

I spun in his arms at the sound of my real name and the anguish in his voice. "You'd tell everyone?" I asked, knowing he'd know what I meant.

"I'd tell the world you were mine."

"You'd forsake all the future Victorias and Irinas and Gina or Gianna or some shits?"

"Who?" he asked with his crooked smile. "I don't want anyone but you, Coffee Bean."

"You'd tell them all that I was your...your..."

"Girlfriend. Yeah," he chuckled, nodding like a child. "I'd put it in skywriting if you wanted me to." He sobered quickly, cupping my face. "You were never a whore, Bean. I never, ever, _ever_ saw you that way. You have to believe me. It was just the only chicken-shit way I could think of to..._be_ with you."

"My ice cream's melting," I whispered, not having an answer for anything, because everything I thought I knew was just slightly skewed. But I think I meant more than just...ice cream.

"Okay," he said with a small smile and a nod. "Ice cream it is..."

I needed time and space to think. We ate in silence, though there wasn't a natural force on the planet that could've stopped us from feeding each other that entire tub of Cookies n Cream. We didn't know how to eat it with two spoons.

And Edward let me just..._be_.

When it came time for bed, I threw the empty tub away, turning in front of him. I looked up at his beautiful face and shook my head.

"I believed everything you've said to me the last seven months, Edward," I started, and scooped up Frankie, who was singing his sweet little high pitched song in the back of his throat, because he wanted attention. "I believed it, because I thought it was shit, but wanted you to mean it. Now you say you _did_ mean it...I'm just fucking twisted in my head, you know?"

He nodded, reaching over to rub a thumb over Frankie's head, who was now nestled in my arms on his back like the baby we treated him as. Two brown paws reached up and touched both of us, tiny little claws trying to pull us to him. I couldn't help but smile.

"I need..." I huffed, looking at blue eyes instead of green, because the blue ones weren't looking at me as if I could shatter him with one word. "I felt like a dirty little secret, Edward. We're adults, and I get that it was my decision, but... I..."

"I know..." Edward nodded, but brushed a kiss on my cheek. "Please consider my parents' party, Coffee Bean. They want to see you. Everyone is...mad at me."

"Don't call me that," I sighed, but nodded in answer to his request, watching as he walked to his bedroom and closed the door behind him.

~oOo~

My dreams that night were flashes, memories of the last seven months. They replayed like erotic, sensual movies in my unconscious mind. But deep within them, past the carnal knowledge of them, I saw..._really fucking saw_...Edward, and what we had done to each other.

_~o~_

_May 2010... the day after "the arrangement" ..._

"_What flavor did you bring?" He bounced up from the sofa and met me in the kitchen._

"_Fudge Royale," I answered, chuckling when I saw he had spoon in hand already and was pulling it out of the bag before I could set it down. "How was your day, dear?"_

"_Shitty," he sighed, taking my purse, keys, and phone. He tossed them all on the counter and tugged me to the sofa. "I couldn't wait to get home."_

_The tub of ice cream was tossed onto the coffee table, and suddenly, I was underneath him on the couch, being kissed like no tomorrow._

_My tongue met his, swirling and twisting, but the room was filled with the sounds of moans and whimpers. I couldn't keep my hands from his hair, and he couldn't keep his hands from slipping up my skirt._

"_Are you sore, Coffee Bean?" he whispered huskily in my ear._

"_It's definitely something I can live with...please...don't stop," I gasped as his fingers grazed over the outside of my underwear._

"_I don't think I can, Bean," he groaned, his brow furrowing. "Now that I've touched you, I never want to stop..."_

_~o~_

_Two months into the "arrangement" …_

"_No, Emmett, I don't need to meet her," Edward sighed, pacing back and forth on the balcony. "Because I'm not dating right now," he groaned, rolling his eyes and running his fingers through his hair._

_I chuckled from the sofa, and he turned around to flip me off with the funniest of crooked smiles. Emmett was always trying to set him up with random beautiful women, and he dodged the blind dates beautifully._

"_You think it's funny?" he growled after he ended the call. He stalked into the living room, and I bolted up from the couch and tried to make to my bedroom, but was tackled to my bed. _

"_You know he just wants to see you happy," I laughed, writhing under him._

"_I am happy," he sighed, lifting my shirt and leaving an open mouth kiss just below my navel. "I'm happier than I've ever been."_

_~o~_

_Two weeks before the Cullen-Denali Christmas party..._

"_Edward, what's wrong?" I gasped as he pressed me into the sliding glass door. He seemed on edge, worried, almost rough with his touches. He had stalked into the apartment like a caged lion._

"_I just..." he whispered, his fingers slipping up into my hair and gripping fiercely. "God, I wanted to do that the day we met," he said, his eyes darkening to a deep forest green. He gripped my hair harder and captured my mouth with his own._

_I could feel everything about him – his arousal, his tension, his want._

"_Fuck, you're so fucking beautiful, Bean. Jesus Christ," he purred against the side of my neck. "Be my date for the Christmas party, Bella? Please?"_

_I nodded, because we'd done that for each other before. We'd filled in as dates for each other when we weren't seeing anyone or we felt uncomfortable with the event and just wanted to be with someone that we knew. But when he said my real name like that, I'd would've walked into oncoming traffic if he'd asked._

"_Okay," I groaned, my eyes rolling back when he hitched my leg up around his hip. He ground himself into me, his cock pressing just where I needed it._

"_No shit, really?" he gasped, pulling away from my neck to press his forehead to mine. "You'll go?"_

_I nodded, unable to do much else but moan, because his hips didn't stop._

"_God, I'll bet you'll be the prettiest there," he sighed, smiling so beautifully. "I know we can't say anything...but damn, I can't wait to show you off..."_

_~o~_

I sat up in bed with a gasp, Frankie looking up from my pillow like I'd lost my mind. He yawned, flipped over upside down, and went back to sleep.

I picked up my phone, and scrolled through numbers until I found the one I needed. I hit send, almost laughing when the sleepy voice answered grumpily.

"Hullo?"

"I need to talk to you, like now," I rambled into the phone. "Can you meet me for coffee?"

"Yeah, sure. Gimme thirty, 'kay?"

I hung up and looked over at the clock. It was still early, but I needed some questions answered.

* * *

**A/N... Alright the first part is there... the second part is almost done. **

**For those of you reading my story _An Angel's Promise_, this won't take me away from it. I just needed to get this idea out of my head before my brain melted. LOL And it will update today, too.**

**Thanks to JenRar, who answered this panicked email... I needed to make sure it wasn't a dumb idea, though I know it's a well worn idea, but I couldn't stop myself.**

**Okay, let me know how you like it... REVIEWS are greatly appreciated. Let me hear it... and I hope you all have a fantastic New Year... Later...**


	2. Chapter 2 Part 2

**A/N... WOW... your response to this was huge! I didn't think it was that big of deal, but apparently you guys think differently. Oh...and I lied...there will 3 chapters to this story, with quick updates...uhhh, like now. With maybe possible outtakes in the future, but we'll see.**

**Yeah...Edward's a little cowardly...yeah, Bella never wanted to ruin a good thing, but sometimes, you just can't fight what your heart wants. Let's see who Bella is meeting. And we'll see a few more flashbacks. **

**And give Bella a break on this chapter. She's lived her whole life watching Edward flirt and date and breakup with women just because _she thought_ he didn't want commitment. And he let her believe that...so let's see how this goes...**

**

* * *

**

I Shall Believe Pt. 2

~oOo~

**BELLA**

December 31, 2010...

I wrapped my hands around my coffee cup, settling at a table on the sidewalk of downtown Seattle. As I waited, I replayed my dreams from last night.

Everything Edward had said for the past seven months flew through my head. I knew Edward. I knew when he was full of shit, and when he was sincere. There wasn't an unkind bone in his body – not towards me, anyway.

I gasped quietly. He'd meant it all!

He'd meant every word, every compliment, every kiss. He just never knew how to start a relationship, because ours was so deeply committed already. He was no more a chicken shit than I was, because neither of us wanted to screw up the best friendship we'd ever had, but our hearts – or his, really – had needed..._more. _He did the only thing he knew to do in order to get..._more._

For the last few months, he had tried to give me hints, tried to say things he'd probably always wanted to say. And I wanted to know why he'd been reluctant for so long.

The person I'd been waiting for slid slowly into the seat across from me, taking the coffee I gently pushed towards her.

"What did my brother do now?" Alice sighed, sipping the black coffee I'd gotten for her.

I snorted, shaking my head, but looked her straight in the eye and asked, "Why did Edward break up with Lauren Mallory our senior year?"

Her mouth fell open, and she looked everywhere but my face. "Bells, how would I know..."

"Because he's your fucking twin, Alice!" I practically growled at her. "Answer the question, please. It's important."

She winced, but her eyes filled with tears.

I suddenly felt bad, but she was the only one that could shed some light on my situation.

"You, Bells. He broke it off because of you. She hated how close we all were – you and Edward, especially. She gave him an ultimatum. You, or her. He chose you."

"And that's not the first time, is it?"

"No, Bells." She grimaced, trying to hide it when she sipped her coffee, but she failed. I knew she knew everything. "It's my fault, Bells. I'm sorry. You didn't know...I never told you."

"Told me what?"

"Told you that just before we moved to Forks, I didn't have many friends. None, actually – just my brother. So when I met you...I pleaded with Edward to let me just...have you. And he did it for me. He liked you instantly, but knew you were important to me."

"And when we all became friends?" I asked, shaking my head.

"I saw it. I saw how you felt, but held back...how he couldn't _not_ be away... God, Bells. I'm sorry."

I sighed, watching people on the street making their way to different destinations. They were all bundled up against the cold and the light mist of the winter morning.

"We've been sleeping together for the last seven months, Ali," I stated without any inflection in my voice.

"What? Really?" she squealed, a smile spreading over her face.

"Friends with benefits," I sighed, tears welling up. "Until something better comes along..."

"He's such a fucking coward," she muttered to herself.

So I told her everything...well, almost everything. She was his sister, so I was pretty sure that she didn't want details.

When I was done, she studied me thoroughly.

"That's why you looked so devastated the night of the Christmas party..."

"Yeah," I huffed, wiping my tears away with the back of my hand.

"You know, he's looked awful this week. He said you haven't spoken to him, but I didn't know why."

"I haven't...until last night."

"And?" she asked, her eyes filled with hope.

I snorted, shaking my head. "I don't know, Ali." I was quiet for a moment, fighting my tears again. "I know that we went into this...shit as adults. I know that we were both responsible, but I lost myself in it all. He made me feel complete and beautiful and...fuck, loved, even. And I felt so fucking dirty at the same time, because he refused to tell anyone or say anything. It was this huge secret, and I felt like he was..."

"Ashamed."

"Yeah," I sobbed, looking up at her. "And the whole time, I felt that...there was the whole _until we find someone we want __more with_ thing..." I sniffled, shaking my head. "I was just...fucking _waiting_ for the other shoe to drop."

"What are you gonna do, Bells? Because he's...really miserable without you..."

My phone went off with amazing timing.

**E: Coffee Bean, I know you need time, but please come to my parents' tonight.**

I set my phone down on the table with a sigh, and Alice yanked it up to read the message.

"Are you coming?"

"If I did...it would only be for your parents, Ali."

She nodded, handing me back my phone. "I have to go, Bells. Jazz was worried when I just left this morning. We were going to spend the day..."

"Yeah, sure...go. I'll...let you know about the party later."

"Where are you going?"

"I have some work to do at my office. And since we're closed today, it'll be easier to get it done while no one is there to bug me."

She chuckled, nodded, and stood up. "You're avoiding the apartment."

"I am," I sighed. "I can't..._think_ when he's there. He makes me lose my rational thought..."

"Love isn't rational," she giggled, hugging me tightly. "That was your problem with James and Jake. They were crazy for you, but you weren't. You never got it..."

I nodded, kissed her temple, and then made my way to my office. I had some avoiding and thinking to do.

~oOo~

**EDWARD**

December 31, 2010

"Damn it, Frankie. Where'd she go?" I whined, sitting at the kitchen counter as the little guy head butted my chin.

"Hmm?" he purred, his bright blue eyes looking at me like he knew everything and he wasn't spilling secrets.

I'd awoken that morning, hoping to God that I could continue my talk with Bella, but she was gone again. My heart sank when I realized that she may avoid me forever.

As Frankie fell onto his side and reached for my face with small brown paws, I remembered what Bella's reaction had been when she wanted the tiny blue-eyed cat. I hadn't really wanted to deal with a pet in the apartment, but her look of disappointment had shattered that resolve.

I wanted her happy, even before our stupid arrangement, so I'd called the pet store and paid for the damn cat over the phone with a credit card, picking him up later that next day. I think Bean's reaction was the best day of my life.

_~o~_

_March 2010..._

_I heard her key in the front door, so I scooped up the little guy, who, in just a few short hours while waiting for Bella, had stolen my heart. He was cuddly and sweet, but playful and silly. _

_She didn't even look up when she walked in the door, setting her keys and phone down on the counter._

"_You're home early," she stated, setting a few bags from the market down by her keys. "I brought strawberry ice cream tonight. How was your day, dear?" she asked, smirking, finally looking up, her mouth falling open._

"_I was busy," I teased, chuckling when she rushed to me, taking the kitten from my arms._

"_I see that," she whispered, nuzzling the little guy's cheek. "I thought you said no way..."_

"_I can change my mind, Coffee Bean."_

"_Don't call me that," she stated automatically. But the next thing I knew, her lips were on mine. "Thank you, thank you, thank you," she breathed against my mouth. _

_My heart had exploded, my breath catching in my throat. If Bean had been self conscious about it, she didn't show it, but my whole body had lit on fire. _

_It was at that very moment that I knew I wouldn't last much longer fighting my feelings for her. I licked my lips, trying to prolong the tiniest taste of her, but it was gone all too soon. _

_In the blink of an eye, she was on the phone with that idiot, Jake._

"_Jake, I have to cancel our plans tonight," she stated into the phone, not even bothering to sound apologetic or to put the kitten down. My ego swelled ten times its size with her next statement. "No, I can't. You'll never guess what Edward brought me!"_

_She placed a thousand kisses on the top of the cat's head, and I chuckled at the pure bliss rolling off of the little guy as his eyes closed and he purred loudly. But the better sound was Jake's whining and pleading on the phone. I couldn't tell what he was saying, but I could well imagine._

"_Anyway," she sighed with a sweet smile after telling the idiot what I'd done, "I want to get him settled here, so I'll just talk to you later, 'kay?"_

_She didn't even wait for Jake's response, just ended the call and tossed her phone on the counter. I was so amused, but still reeling from her kiss that I could barely contain myself._

_My favorite brown eyes were gleaming when she looked up at me. "What should we name him?"_

_~o~_

December 31, 2010...

"Huh," I huffed, tickling Frankie's belly and seeing things a little differently.

With that one phone call to Jake, I saw Bella's and my similarities. She practically smashed our friendship into Jake's face, and I'd never realized it. It was like she was forcing him away, using me as her shield. And I'd done the same thing with Victoria and Irina.

Irina had been worse than Victoria, and the most recent relationship before Bella and I had started having sex. Bella never knew she was actually in the apartment when it all fell apart.

_~o~_

_April 2010..._

"_How was your day, dear?" Bella chuckled when she walked in the door from work._

_It was the silliest of questions, because when I first moved in with her, we had instantly been comfortable..._domestic_. So I had started greeting her in the evenings like that. We'd laughed, and it had become a habit._

_When she looked up and saw Irina and me on the sofa watching TV, my Bean had blushed, but laughed. "Sorry, guys. Hey, Irina. How are you?"_

"_Fine, Bella," Irina sighed, rolling her eyes._

_She didn't think I'd seen her, but I had. I saw jealousy rolling off of her in waves. _

_Irina was a beautiful woman, but in that one second, I saw the differences. Bella was warm, sweet, funny, caring. Irina was shallow and tried to turn my attention back to her, but failed._

"_Coffee Bean," I said, extricating myself from Irina's grasp. "I hope you don't mind; we ate the last of the lasagna."_

"_No, no...that's great. I'm glad it didn't go to waste." Bella smiled, but I saw in her eyes something else. "And don't call me that," she sighed with a wry smirk._

"_What's up, Bean?"_

"_A long day...a fight with Jake...no different than any other day. Where's Frankie?"_

"_In your bathroom sink," I chuckled, and from the corner of my eye, I saw Irina frown. _

"_Okay," Bella snorted, shaking her head. "I'll leave you guys to it... I'm going to take a shower and go to bed..."_

"_Bean, wait," I said, tugging her arm. "Are you okay?" I asked in a whisper, and the tsk behind me did not go unnoticed by me or Bella._

"_I'm fine... You two have a good night. Pretend I'm not here," she said, smiling softly._

"_'Kay," I said, a frown on my face when she shut her bedroom door._

"_What's with you two?" Irina growled from the sofa, her arms folded across her chest._

"_We're friends, roommates," I answered automatically, but I could feel the same old shit heading my way, and the worst part was, I wasn't even upset about it. I'd come to expect it._

"_Yeah, but..._dear_?" she snarled. "Are you sleeping with her?"_

"_Uh, no," I sighed, rolling my eyes. But God, how I wished that wasn't the truth, because ever since her kiss in thanks for Frankie, I'd pined for more._

"_She tells you not to call her that ridiculous name, yet you do it anyway," she snapped, tears filling her eyes._

"_It's a joke, Irina. I call her that. She tells me not to. We've been doing it since high school." I was already resolved for the next question._

"_I think there's more to it. Why don't you move out?"_

"_No."_

"_What do you mean, no?"_

"_I fucking mean, no." I frowned, waiting for the eventual ultimatum that all women hit me with._

"_Move in with me, Edward," Irina purred, pulling me to her and trying to kiss me._

"_We've only been dating for weeks, Irina. I think it's too soon." God, I sounded like an asshole...or a girl; I couldn't decide which._

"_Her, or me, Edward. Pick," she huffed, shoving me away._

"_Irina, she's my best..."_

"_No, she isn't just your best friend. Her, or me," she said again, but the tears running down her face were proof that she already knew my answer._

"_Don't ask that of me, Irina. It's not fair."_

"_Pick."_

_I looked over at the woman that I'd been seeing for the past few weeks. She was pretty and fun, but she wasn't ever going to be as comfortable a fit as my Coffee Bean. _

"_Her." I shrugged nonchalantly. It would always be her._

"_Fine," she snapped, getting up from the sofa. "For the record, Edward, you're losing out."_

"_It didn't have to be that way," I groaned, shaking my head and running a hand through my hair. "And just so you know, Irina... no man really, truly likes to get flowers. Well, unless he's dead."_

"_Go to hell," she growled, walking out the door._

_I snorted, rolled my eyes, and fell back down on the sofa. I picked up the phone, not even missing the girl five seconds after she'd left. "Hey, Em...what are we doing tonight?" I chuckled into the phone._

_~o~_

December 31, 2010...

I sighed, shaking my head. I texted Bella, hoping to God and all that was holy that she showed up at my parents' tonight. And then I called Emmett.

"Hey, dude," he said, and I could tell he was in his car.

"Em, can you help me at my parents' today to set up for the party?"

"Yeah, sure. I can meet you there, okay?"

"That's great. I'll be heading there in an hour or so. Mom wants to fix us lunch."

"Sweet, Mom's home cookin'."

I chuckled, but Emmett had a huge soft spot for my mother. "She's making chili just for you."

"Excellent," he praised into the phone. "How's Bean? Have you talked to her yet?"

"Yeah, but she left the house again before I woke up this morning."

"You'd better fix it, Ed. This is the shit I warned you about ages ago..."

"I love her, Em," I admitted softly, and I realized that it was the first time I'd said it to anyone.

"She doesn't... Wait, what?"

"I love her. She's...just more, Emmett. And I think I've fucked it all up." I fell onto the sofa, my hand fisting my hair. "God, I just want her to know, man. And I'm not sure she's coming tonight. She won't really talk to me or answer my texts or anything..."

Emmett was quiet for a moment. "I'm picking you up in ten minutes. You're riding with me to the house."

"'Kay." I sighed, recognizing my friend's tone as one not to be argued with. "Emmett, you're not gonna punch me again, are you?"

"No, dude," he chuckled softly. "But I think we need to talk. I just left Bells."

~oOo~

**BELLA**

December 31, 2010...

"Bean, why are you at work on a holiday?" Emmett teased as I let him in my office.

"I had shit I needed to get done, Em." I sat down at my desk, looking up at the big teddy bear of a friend. "Why did you punch Edward?"

"He fucking deserved that shit, Bean!" Emmett growled, starting to pace in my office. "What were you guys thinking? Seriously. I thought being friends was everything to you two."

"I love him, Emmett," I pouted, feeling like an admonished child. "I never thought...I didn't know... Fuck, Em..." I sighed, crying for like the millionth time today. "I've loved him since high school."

"Oh, Bells," he sighed, kneeling by my chair. "Don't cry. I didn't mean to yell. But you guys are my closest friends. I didn't want anything to happen to that."

I nodded, sniffled, and laid my head on his huge shoulder. "What do I do, Em?"

He groaned, placing a kiss to the top of my head and pulling me off of his shoulder. "You'll listen to a story."

He stood up and went back to his pacing. "Oh damn, this sucks. I knew something happened way back in the day with Lauren, but I just thought... well, shit, it was just an ugly break up...I thought he'd just do the same to you, Bean." He stopped, his usually sweet face filled with remorse. "Eddie asked me senior year if he should ask you to prom...and I told him no. I thought he was trying to rebound with someone he was...you know, comfortable with. I didn't want him to hurt you, and I..."

I sighed, shaking my head. "Lauren broke up with Edward because he wouldn't stop being my friend, Emmett. I asked Alice about it just this morning. She gave him some ultimatum, and he told her to go to hell..."

"Really?"

"Yeah," I groaned, putting my face in my hands.

Emmett was by my chair in an instant. "Come to the party tonight. Talk to him."

"We'll see."

_~o~_

_September 2006..._

"_Hey, guys," Edward beamed, plopping down on the floor of Alice's bedroom next to me. "So how are we rockin' the birthday, Coffee Bean?" _

"_Don't call me that," I growled, flipping through a magazine. "Aren't you going out with Lauren?"_

"_Hell, no! We're over. That's old news, Bella," he chuckled, not looking like it was bugging him one bit. "Where ya been?"_

"_Call Emmett," Alice said, filing her nails. "Let's order pizza for Bells' birthday and go get some movies."_

_We heard Esme call Alice from downstairs, and with a sigh and typical teenage eye roll, she left the room._

"_You really aren't with Lauren anymore?" I asked, tossing the magazine up on the bed and looking over at him._

"_Nope, she was...getting on my nerves," he chuckled, nudging my shoulder with his own. "Don't you want to party with me, Coffee Bean?"_

"_Don't call me that, Eddie," I growled, but laughed anyway, because it was what we did. "What did she do?"_

"_She started talking about going to college together," he snorted, rolling his eyes. "I haven't even started applications, yet. Have you?"_

"_I've sent for them," I said with a nod._

"_Yeah? Where?"_

"_Um, UW and Oregon...and a few my Dad wanted..."_

"_My Dad wants Harvard," Edward snorted. "That application has been sitting on my desk forever."_

"_You've got the grades." I smiled, picking at his jeans. There was a small tear at the knee that he was allowing to get bigger and bigger. Esme hated that pair of his jeans. He had to fight for them every laundry day. _

"_I do, thanks to you. What would I do without you in English?"_

"_And Biology..."_

"_Right, that, too!" His smile was heartbreakingly beautiful, and I realized that I would be lost without him if he went to the other side of the country to college._

"_Alice is applying with me," I told him, pointing to the stack on her desk._

"_Yeah?" His eyebrows shot up, but he didn't leave the floor next to me._

"_Yeah," I sighed, nodding and looking up when Alice came back in the room._

"_Mom said that pizza was fine, that it was up to Bella...'cause it's her birthday. She told me to ask you if you'd go pick it up...that and the movies, Edward." Alice plopped back down on the edge of the bed next to me and began playing with my hair._

"_Yeah, sure, and I'll pick up Em while I'm out," he sighed, standing up. "Coffee Bean, do we get cake for your birthday?"_

"_Don't call me that. And no, pick up ice cream for us, Edward. Please?"_

"_Ice cream, huh? What flavor? 'Cause Ali can't eat it..."_

"_Whatever you want. We'll share it," I shrugged, because there wasn't a flavor that I didn't like. "Ali, would you rather have cake?"_

"_Hell no, I'm on a diet..."_

"_Right," Edward and I snorted, because Alice was a tiny thing to begin with._

"_Bad habits begin now. Remember that when you guys eat the whole container," she said haughtily._

"_We will," we said, smirking at each other._

_We watched a ton of movies when he and Emmett got back from the stores. And that was the first night Edward and I ever shared an entire tub of ice cream – Rocky Road – with one spoon. _

_~o~_

December 31, 2010...

As I sat in the driveway of the Cullen home, which was more modest than one would expect for such a well-off family, I couldn't take it anymore. I needed to see Edward. A whole week without him, and only seeing him last night wasn't enough.

Rose opened the door when I got there, her face severe and solemn. "He's not here, Bells."

"He's not coming?" I asked, wincing that I may have avoided him too long.

"Well, no, that's not what I meant. He and Emmett went to pick up a few fireworks for midnight," she told me as she let me inside.

The party was in full swing, and I could see many faces I recognized from Cullen-Denali, as well as just from knowing the Cullens for so many years.

I was able to melt into the background; Esme and Carlisle were way too busy entertaining their guests to notice me. Alice and Jasper were nowhere to be seen, so I escaped upstairs to the room that I'd hung out in more times than I could count.

I opened the door to Edward's bedroom, smiling at the smell of it. He must have showered and dressed here, because it smelled like his cologne and his soap.

It was such a _guy_ room, with blues and tans and dark furniture. There were a ton of old CDs that he didn't listen to anymore, movie posters on the wall, and a few ribbons he'd won on the track team his senior year. There were a bunch of pictures on his cork board – some of Emmett, and some of me and Alice.

But there were also subtle hints on that cork board – the tickets from the first movie we'd all gone to see, stubs from concerts, the Starbucks thing that they put on your cup when it was too hot – I'd thrown that at him the first time he ever called me Coffee Bean. There was even a label from a soda I'd peeled at lunch the day we'd first met. I snorted, not even remembering him picking it up, but I guess he had.

"Coffee Bean," I heard behind me in whispered shock, but I didn't turn around.

"Don't call me that," I sighed, still looking at his mementos.

"I can stop, if you want. If you'd just talk to me," he muttered, his voice just a little closer behind me.

"Don't you dare!" I gasped, spinning in front of him.

He snickered, but shoved his hands into his front pockets. "Whatever you want, Bean. Why aren't you downstairs?"

"I'm not in the partying mood," I said with a shrug.

"Me, either," he sighed, sitting on the edge of his bed as I looked around his room.

I was quiet as I looked at his things, coming across his desk. It was messy as ever, with old letters and school things. The Harvard acceptance letter was under the glass, along with the one from UW.

"You really went to UW to be with me?"

"Yeah," he said, looking at his feet and not my face. "And I moved in with you just to be closer. The shit I told you about living on campus was bullshit. And I wanted to take you to prom senior year...and Lauren and Victoria and Irina all left me because I couldn't let you go..."

It was like he was purging himself of everything he'd ever hidden from me.

"And how many women did you go home with when we went out?"

"None," he sighed, looking up at me. "Not one."

"But you flirted with them, played with them..."

"I needed to do something," he growled, running a hand through his hair. "I would go through these phases...where I needed to feel normal. I didn't want to screw our friendship up, but no girl ever..."

"Understood," I finished for him.

"Right," he sighed. "I don't regret a second of the last few months, Bella. I don't. I'm just really sorry for making you feel..."

My heart clenched at the sound of my real name. "Did you mean what you said to me?"

"Every word, I swear," he vowed, standing up and cupping my face. "The only lie that I told you was when I said I didn't want to tell anyone. Jesus, Bean, I want to tell the world."

"Then tell them," I said, tears filling my eyes, but I crossed my arms over my chest. "Go downstairs and tell them."

He chuckled nervously, studying my face, but we both turned towards the door when there was a knock.

"Guys, Carlisle and Esme want you downstairs," Rose called. "It's almost midnight."

"'Kay," we said together.

"Come on," Edward said, taking my hand and dragging me out the door. "I'll do better than tell them..."

The countdown was well past sixty seconds when he rushed us into the middle of the living room. I fought him with a laugh as he stood up on the ottoman in front of everyone, but he reached down and picked me up, setting me next to him.

With a huge smile on his face, Emmett handed Edward and me two flutes of champagne.

"A toast, Coffee Bean," Edward said loudly, and I noticed everyone was silently staring at us.

"Don't call me that," I whispered, getting a few chuckles from the people that knew us. I could barely register Rose, Alice, and Jasper behind him.

"To a new year...a new start...and to the only girl I've ever loved," he said, his head tilting. His eyes were liquid green as he held the flute up to mine.

"Edward," I breathed, looking around us and then back to him.

"Tell him, Bells," Emmett whispered, nudging my leg.

"I love you, too," I sobbed, just as the countdown hit midnight, and I wasn't sure if the cheers around us were for the knee-buckling kiss he was laying on me, or the fact that it was a new year.

Suddenly, it didn't matter that we were in front of his and his father's colleagues or Tanya or his parents or Alice or Emmett or even Gina or Gianna or some shit, because Edward Cullen had just told them all he loved me.

"Happy New Year!" The crowd around us cheered, and I jumped, breaking from Edward's lips.

"Happy New Year, Bella," he whispered, his forehead against mine. "I think they all know now, huh, Bean?"

I laughed and sniffled back my tears at the same time, burying my face into his neck as he stepped us down from the ottoman, his arms tight around me. He didn't seem like he was going to be letting go any time soon.

"Come on, guys," Alice chirped, grabbing our hands. "Fireworks..."

~oOo~

**EDWARD**

Shit, fuck, damn it! I groaned, but couldn't keep the smile from my face as my Coffee Bean was ripped from me. I watched with amusement as my mother and my sister shuffled Bella off to most likely squeal – Bean wasn't a squealer, but the female members of my family were, for sure.

But God, it was the new year, and I wanted to be home with her – in our apartment, _alone._

"You love her," I heard next to me, and I chuckled at my father.

"Yeah," I sighed, again smiling like an idiot.

"You love Bella," he snickered again.

"Yeah, Dad," I laughed.

"It's about damn time," he sighed, slapping my back with a pride-filled look on his face. "You know they're going to be a minute. You can't run away with her yet."

I nodded, smirking at him.

"Good. Come help me with the fireworks, and I'll negotiate for you and Bella to escape," he said, grinning.

As I walked with him into the backyard, I remembered the last time I'd seen fireworks.

_~o~_

_July 2010..._

"_Coffee Bean, I'm home," I called out into the apartment, tossing my keys and phone onto the kitchen counter._

"_Don't call me that, and I'm right here," she greeted from the sofa, and I smiled at her and Frankie snuggled on the couch, the TV on to some old black and white movie._

"_Hey, you two," I said, smiling and kneeling beside them. Frankie stretched and reached for my face. "Is there room for me?"_

"_Yeah, silly, come on," she chuckled, shifting so that I could crawl in behind them._

_We'd been sleeping together for two months, but I loved the domestic feel of the whole thing. Coming home to Bella like this made me regret the whole "friends with benefits" shit. I wanted it for real...no bullshit...I just didn't know how to get it there._

_I nestled into the couch, pulling her back to my chest, but apparently the whole shifting of Frankie's world caused him to remember that he was hungry, so he left us both to go investigate his food bowl._

"_Whatcha watchin', Bean?" I asked, placing kisses to the back of her head._

"_I'm not sure," she snickered. "I just turned on the TV. How was your day, dear?"_

_I chuckled, kissing her head again. "Boring. Yours?"_

"_Interesting," she sighed, turning over and facing me. "Um...there's this company Fourth of July party at the park... and would you mind going with me?"_

"_That's tomorrow night," I pointed out. "You just found out today?"_

"_No?" She winced and started to turn back over, but I stopped her._

"_Did you think I wouldn't go?" I asked, tilting her head up. "We've always filled in when neither of us had dates," I reminded her, frowning when she fiddled with my tie instead of looking at me._

_The truth of that was...there were times when I'd rather Bella have been my date than anyone else. I would specifically make sure I was dateless for certain corporate functions, inviting her to attend._

"_I know," she sighed, but smiled up at me, tugging my tie off. It landed on the coffee table behind her. "Will you please go? Everyone in my office has dates, and I don't want..."_

_I chuckled, silencing her with a kiss. "Of course, Coffee Bean," I said, running my hand down her side to her bottom. I pulled her closer. "Will there be hotdogs?"_

"_Yeah," she giggled, wriggling closer as I hitched her leg over my hip. "And don't call me that."_

"_And fireworks?"_

"_I think so," she sighed, her neck tilting as I began to lave my tongue up her neck to her ear. She made the most amazing sound as I sucked the spot right behind her earlobe._

"_What about sparklers? I _really_ like sparklers, Bella," I growled low in her ear, flipping her onto her back, so that I was settled between her legs._

_Her laugh was contagious, causing me to chuckle. "Yeah, I'll go, Bean... sounds like fun."_

_~oOo~_

"_Shit, Edward. My boss is right over there," she groaned as my hands groped her under the blankets covering us._

_The Fourth of July party had ended up being a picnic, and the fireworks were about to start. The slight rain had left a little chill to the air, and I had wrapped the two of us up in a blanket, Bella's back to my chest as she sat between my legs._

"_Yeah, but it's dark. And I'm pretty sure we're not the only ones," I chuckled, trying not to just ravish her under the stars and tree canopies._

_My hands skimmed up her legs to her apex. She was wearing shorts that should have been deemed illegal, but now they were damned convenient as my fingers slipped into the side of them. I groaned that she was wet for me already. As my finger circled her clit, she gasped loudly._

"_Shh, Coffee Bean. You don't want me to stop, do you?" I asked her, hoping to God she didn't, because she was just gorgeous when she came._

_She shook her head profusely, her hips rolling with the rhythm I was setting perfectly hidden under the blanket._

"_Then stay quiet, okay?"_

_Her head fell back to my shoulder, as her panting became labored and raspy. Her sweet brown eyes glazed when I slipped two fingers deep within her, my thumb pressing her where she needed the most, where she was swollen and aching._

"_Fuck," she breathed, her whole body shaking as I curled my fingers just right and cupped her breast over the t-shirt she was wearing. Her hands gripped my thighs, which made my own hips grind against her from behind._

_We both moaned, and then my Bean shattered silently, her body shivering from head to toe._

"_God, Bella...you're just fucking beautiful when you do that," I growled, unable to not taste her on my fingers._

_She watched me with dark, lust filled eyes, pulling my mouth to hers when I licked her flavor from my lips. _

_~o~_

January 1, 2011...

"Hey," I cried out when I was tugged into the shadows of my parents' backyard as my Dad's fireworks lit up the night sky. I found myself pressed against the brick wall of the house, Bella leaning into me on her tiptoes.

"Hey, yourself," she giggled, pressing her lips to mine way too quickly. "I want to go _home_, Edward."

"You're the driver, Bella," I chuckled, skimming my hands down her back to her sweet ass. I cupped her and picked her up quickly, spinning to press her into the wall.

She squeaked, squeezing her eyes closed.

"I rode with Emmett."

"Well, shit...get us out of here," she giggled, her head falling back with a true laugh as I used the side yard's shadows to avoid seeing anyone on the way to her car.

As we made it to her car, she held up a bag. "Guess what," she sang, wearing the sweetest and sexiest of smiles.

"What, Coffee Bean?"

"Don't call me that," she laughed, but took out the tub of ice cream. "Your mom had _coffee flavored_ ice cream...don't tell her I stole it."

"God, I love you..." I snorted into a laugh, my head hitting her shoulders. Now that I'd told her, I wanted her to hear it every second of the day.

"I love you, too, Edward," she sighed, nuzzling my hair. "Will you drive?"

~oOo~

**BELLA**

January 1, 2011...

I was fucking over the top giddy, to the point of annoyance, I think. By the time Edward let us into our apartment, I wanted to lick the entire tub of ice cream off of him.

I'd gone a week without his touch, his sweet words, his amazing kisses, and now that we were...

"What are we?" I blurted out, grabbing the spoon from him, but laughing when he tackled me to the sofa.

"You, Coffee Bean, are everything. Does the word girlfriend even cover that?" he asked into my neck as he set the ice cream on the coffee table.

"Yeah," I said, and I knew it came out a little dreamier sounding than I probably wanted it to, but he was just so... Gah!

He chuckled, pulling back to look at me. "I mean it, Bella."

"Sit up," I whispered, pushing at his chest. I grabbed the ice cream and the spoon, crawling up into his lap and straddling his thighs. "Here," I said, feeding him the first bite like I always did. "When did you know?" I asked, kissing him just to taste the ice cream on him.

He smiled, humming against my lips. "Bean..." he groaned, licking his lips.

"Please?" I begged, taking my own bite, before offering him another.

"I thought you were so pretty the very first day, Bean," he admitted. "But..."

"Alice needed a friend," I ended with a nod and another bite of coffee ice cream.

"Yeah...she told you?"

"She did," I sighed, feeding him again. "But when did you _know_?"

He took the spoon from me, dipping in for a bite. He offered it to me sweetly. "When Lauren broke up with me when I defended you...I wasn't going to stop being friends with you because some 'chick' told me to. And the next day was your birthday. We talked about going to college. I knew I couldn't even think about Harvard, Bean. It would've been too damn far."

"Do you regret it?" I asked through a mouthful of ice cream. "I mean...it was Harvard, Edward."

"No," he laughed at me. "UW was a blast. When did you know?"

I frowned, taking the spoon from him, but leaned in to kiss him so very softly. "I think the first day we met."

Edward huffed, his brow furrowing.

"But God, I loved our friendship. I didn't think you could ever...you know...so I just shoved it away." I took another spoonful and shoved it into his mouth with a laugh. "Wait, I'm not done," I giggled. "But the second you moved in here... I was done for."

"Oh, Bella," he groaned, cupping my face. "And you listened...you heard...everything? When I had dates..."

"I heard you break up with Irina," I sighed, looking at the ice cream instead of him. "The rest of the times...well, let's just thank God for headphones, okay?"

"You heard Irina?"

"Yeah, I hadn't quite gotten into the shower before her shrill voice met my ears." I shrugged, taking a deep breath. "I thought you were just getting rid of her. I didn't think you meant it."

"I'm sorry," he whispered, taking the bite I was offering him. "What about Jake?"

"He really did leave me, Edward."

"Why?"

"Because he knew that I didn't want him anymore."

"How did he know, Bean?"

"I told him so. You had broken up with Irina, and it was a brilliant reason...so I let him give me the same ultimatum." I shrugged, looking away from his warm, sweet, but very heated gaze. "He'd asked me to move in with him. He thought if he got me away from you, that we'd get...better."

Edward took the spoon and now empty ice cream tub from me and set it on the coffee table. He cupped my face, pulling me in for a kiss.

I couldn't help the sob that escaped me, because it was emotional and meant so much. We were really..._together_. I held him so close that, for a moment, I was worried that I'd hurt him. He gripped my hair just as fiercely, turning my head to deepen the kiss, and I sat forward on my knees just to be able to loom over him.

"Edward," I hiccuped, pulling away for a quick breath.

"What, Bean?"

"Make love to me, Edward. It's just..."

He held my face so sweetly, studying my face, my eyes, my lips. "I need...I want to do something, Bella... There's something that needs to change this time, okay?"

I nodded, leaning into his hand as he brushed away my tears.

"Do you trust me, Coffee Bean?"

I smiled, nodding slowly. "Yeah..."

"Good," he chuckled softly, planting soft kisses all over my face and hands. "Come with me."

* * *

**A/N...Yeah, another little cliffy... but like I said, there will be 3 chapters, and the last chapter has such a lemony zest to it, that it should be illegal, but... it's not. LOL**

**So the everyone knows now...and they've escaped back to their house...**

**Thanks to JenRar for beta'ing this on the fly...**

**And now, I'm gonna post this pretty quickly, because, like I said, I just needed to get this out of my head and then get back to AP... **

**So review for me, and let me hear what you think... And have a happy new year... Later...**


	3. Chapter 3 Part 3

**A/N...Here's the final part of this little story. It _is_ lemony, but I need you to pay attention to the dates... it really flashes from present to past...**

**Again, I don't own SM's work. I do love her peeps though... **

**And I forgot to mention that this little story was inspired by the song _I Shall Believe_ by Sheryl Crow. It's a sad tune, and kinda fits both these little characters. But I gave them a HEA... ;)**

**I have a few things to say at the bottom...**

**

* * *

**

I Shall Believe pt. 3

~oOoOo~

**EDWARD**

January 1, 2011...

If I had any regrets concerning our "arrangement," there would be two. It became some sort of weird habit to use Bella's bed every time we had sex, and I never stayed until morning – a cowardly thing that stemmed from our first night together.

I guided her to my room, opening the door.

"Wait, what are you..." Bella balked, tugging my hand.

"Coffee Bean, I want you in _my_ bed," I whispered, walking backwards into my room and pulling her with me, both of her hands in mine. "And I want to wake up with you in my arms in the morning."

I sat down on the edge of my bed, looking up at her, and years of want, of need, of hidden feelings, of lies, of memories, of pure friendship perfection came flying at me.

"Don't call me that," she snorted, but I knew she loved it.

"God, I'm so fucking stupid," I groaned, lifting her shirt off over her head. I leaned in and placed a kiss on her belly, smiling when her muscles twitched under my lips. "I should've just _fucking told_ you."

"Me, too," my Bean said, gripping my sweatshirt and tugging at it. "We were both scared, Edward."

I shrugged out of my hoodie, looking up at the only girl that had ever counted. "I still am," I admitted softly, dropping my shirt to the floor unceremoniously. "I can't think about this ending...or fucking it up."

She smiled, and it was so damned beautiful, my breath caught in my throat. She pushed me onto my back and crawled up on top of me. "We've had..._maybe_ three fights in our lives, Edward. And one...was over what movie to watch first the night of my birthday party at your house."

I chuckled, nodded, and threaded my fingers into her hair as she loomed over me. "And we still ate ice cream..."

"Exactly," she laughed softly, pressing her forehead to mine as I just stared at her. "And that one...doesn't count, because I didn't really care."

I grinned up at her. "No fair. I totally let you have it because it was your birthday..."

"See?" She smirked adorably, her hands braced on either side of my head.

We were still in jeans, but I couldn't stop from kissing her. I rolled her over, our tongues swirling, filling each other's mouths, and the most beautiful of moans ghosted into the room from the both of us.

"Edward," she breathed, her head falling to the side as I placed long, open mouth kisses to her neck. "Please..."

"For the record, Bean," I murmured against her throat, "these past few months...it wasn't just sex for me. I made love to you every time."

"Show me," she said, but I pulled back to see tears filling her sweet brown eyes.

I smiled, kissing away each salty-sweet tear. "I hope you don't have to work tomorrow, Bella," I said, kissing each of her eyes, "because I plan to show you each moment that was so very real to me."

She groaned, but I wasn't sure if it was my words or the use of her real name, because I had just recently realized that she shook _every time_ I used it.

"Coffee Bean...do you remember our first time?" I asked, flicking open the front of her jeans and tugging them off of her. "My first taste of you...it ruined me for anyone else..."

_~o~_

_May 2010..._

"_I'm not a whore, Edward," she whispered, and I gasped at her. "So if...I mean, don't 'cheat' on me. If you find someone, then just tell me."_

"_I would _never_," I vowed, thinking she had no idea just how high of a pedestal I'd placed her on, and it was insulting that she would think I would be anything other than honored to make love to her. "Bean, you're my best friend. You've always come first. I swear."_

_I could feel a sheen of sweat on my brow, because I wasn't sure what her answer would be. I should have just told her at that very second that she was everything to me. That no relationship I'd ever had was a fraction as valuable as my relationship with her._

"_'Kay," she whispered, her eyes still a little nervous._

_I wanted to make her feel good, feel as beautiful as I saw her._

_I was aching and throbbing for her, as I set her down on the sofa. She was wearing what she usually changed into after work – pajama pants and a t-shirt. And as usual, it was one of my t-shirts. I'd stopped even putting them in my closet; I just folded them up for her and set them in her room when I did laundry._

_I knelt on the floor in front of her, cupping her face. "I want to kiss you, Bean. So badly..."_

_I wasn't sure if it was the vodka that made me unsure, but it took everything that I had to keep my voice, my hands, and my breathing steady, because I was about to do something that I'd only fantasized about._

_She didn't give me a chance to ask again, because she leaned forward, cupping my face. _

_My heart exploded when her lips met mine, causing a moan to escape me. I reached for her hair and her hip at the same time, tugging her to the edge of the sofa. She took my bottom lip, suckling it slightly, before her tongue glided across it, asking for entrance. And the moment our tongues met, I was lost to her. _

_No one felt as consuming as she did. No one had made my hands shake with just one fucking kiss. And I couldn't wait to taste her. Everywhere._

_My hands lost control, as did hers. Suddenly, there was pulling and tugging, t-shirts and pajamas being removed. It was like a fucking floodgate just opened up._

"_Jesus," I gasped, my forehead hitting her shoulder, my eyes squeezed shut to get some sort of control. But it was no use, because when I opened my eyes, I saw that Bean was completely naked, and she was fucking stunning. _

_I'd seen her in bathing suits and shorts, and once when she was sick, I'd seen her in her bra and underwear, but this was...so very different, because she was naked...for me._

"_You are fucking beautiful, Coffee Bean," I gasped, pulling back to look at her. Her body started to curl in on itself, and I had to stop her. "Uh uh," I growled, shaking my head. "No way...let me see you."_

"_Edward," she protested, shaking from head to toe._

_I kissed her again, just to relax her, just to be able to fucking touch the softest skin I'd ever felt._

_I broke away from her mouth, kissing and licking down her neck, stopping to say, "Lean back, Bella."_

_God, she was just about perfect, with round, perky breasts that were heaving. I leaned down to take one of her sweet, already pebbled nipples into my mouth. They were the color of ripe raspberries, but tasted better. My eyes shot to her face when I heard her groan, gasp, and then she arched up to me._

_It was then that I noticed her thighs pressing together, that she was trying to find friction, anything._

"_Let me," I begged, opening her legs with my hands._

"_Edward...it's been...a while..." Her frown, her blushing cheeks, and her teeth working her bottom lip told me that Jake hadn't done anything close to what I was about to do, what I'd been aching to do._

_He. Was. An. Idiot._

_I smiled, and then kissed her lips, tugging her bottom lip from between her teeth. "Then this should feel _really_ good, Bean."_

_She moaned again, but allowed me to push her back and spread her legs wider on the edge of the sofa. God, she even smelled like heaven._

"_Holy fuck," she gasped as my tongue slipped over her folds and then inside of them, gathering as much of her flavor as I could, because..._goddamn_...she tasted good. "Fuck, Edward...more."_

"_I thought so," I chuckled, placing a kiss on the inside of her thigh, before going back for more of her._

_I licked her, kissed her, tongued her. I flicked my tongue over her clit, just to hear my name mixed with curse words. And it wasn't long before I was awarded with the best sight. _

_Bella in orgasm was beyond beautiful. It was more than I'd ever expected. And by God, I wanted more..._

~oOo~

**BELLA**

January 1, 2011...

Jesus Christ, he was good with his mouth! I could barely see straight as he crawled back up my body. I was surrounded by the scent of him – his skin, his bedding, his hair – hell, his whole room was just so very _him_.

My whole body shook with the aftermath of his mouth on my center. Every. Fucking. Time. He would evoke a climax that made me see stars.

He rubbed my belly, kissing my cheek, my jaw, and then my ear, as he said, "You taste just as good now as the first time, Bean..."

I huffed, reaching for him, and he gave himself to me, kissing me so sweetly and tasting of me. The flavor reminding me of the first time we'd been together. Jake had hated to go down, so I hadn't had anyone do that in so long, and it seemed like Edward just _knew_ that I needed it, wanted it, and now craved it. But only from him.

I shivered under his touch, his kisses, pushing him onto his back. He was still in his jeans as I loomed over him from the side. "Personally, Edward...I remember our second night, don't you?"

He snickered, but it turned into a groan as soon as my tongue met his nipple, circling it, nipping at it with my teeth. His hands reached for me, his fingertips ghost over my skin, but he knew what I was talking about, because by our second night together, I'd found my bravery, my courage, and my want for him...

_~o~_

"_Are you sore, Coffee Bean?" he whispered huskily in my ear._

"_It's definitely something I can live with...please...don't stop," I gasped as his fingers grazed over the outside of my underwear._

"_I don't think I can, Bean," he groaned, his brow furrowing. "Now that I've touched you, I never want to stop..."_

"_Wait," I whispered, looking up at him, and he instantly looked heartbroken. "There's something I want to do, Edward." As much as I wanted his touch, I wanted to do the touching._

"_Yeah?" he said, his crooked smile in place as I pushed at him to sit up._

"_I need you to stand," I commanded, licking my lips as he did what I asked. I backed him into the wall just outside my bedroom door, dropping to my knees._

"_Bella...B-bean," he sputtered, "you don't...I mean..."_

"_You _don't_ want a blow job, Edward?" I teased, tugging his dress pants open and skimming them down over his hips._

"_I didn't say _that_," he huffed, but I could've melted at the slight tinge of pink in his cheeks. "I just...you don't have to, Coffee Bean..."_

"_Don't..." I said with a smirk, pulling his boxers down. Once he was out of them and his pants, I finished with, "...call me that." _

_The long, slow lick that I gave his beautifully large cock caused the most delicious of sounds to erupt from my best friend. He was warm and thick and already leaking, and when I heard a thump against the wall, I looked up to see that his head had fallen back._

"_Breathe, Edward," I whispered, dragging my tongue over the tip of him, eliciting another undecipherable sound._

"_Oh, shit, I... Damn it..." he sputtered, his eyes squeezing closed as I finally took him all the way in my mouth. "You... Bella, please...more," he groaned._

_I hummed around him as I felt his hand on my head. I increased my speed, my suction, swirling my tongue around the ridge at the top of his cock. I took him completely in again, this time, cupping his balls with one hand and grabbing his hip with the other._

"_That looks...fucking amazing, Bean... Holy shit," he breathed. "But I'm...I'm about..."_

_I took him to the back of my throat, swallowing around him, and he exploded – both verbally and literally._

"_Shit, fuck, damn it!" he cried, leaning back against the wall. "You...come here," he panted, pulling me up. "That was..."_

_~oOo~_

**EDWARD**

January 1, 2011...

"Fucking amazing," I panted, my head falling back to the bed. I lifted my head when I heard a sweet giggle.

"You said that the first time, too," she snorted, looking quite proud of herself as she crawled up my body.

And by God, she should. Coffee Bean had the best mouth. Ever.

I opened my arms for her, rolling us to our sides. I just wanted to look at her. I wanted to affirm she was really there. And I wanted to tell her..._everything_.

"No more," I whispered, shaking my head as I tucked her hair behind her ears.

"No more, what?"

"No more...bullshit," I sighed, leaning in to press my lips to her forehead. "I want you to sleep in here...every night. I want to take you out. And I want..."

"Can I send flowers to your office?" she teased, squealing when I tickled her.

I rolled on top of her and said with sincerity, "You can do anything you want..."

"I want you to take me to lunch," she whispered, but she looked up at me wistfully. "You've never met me at my office."

"Okay."

"I want to tell Charlie..."

"I should probably talk to him, huh?"

"Yeah," she sighed, threading her fingers in my hair. "I love you. I really wanted to say that the night before the Christmas party," she said, her little nose wrinkling.

"You have no idea how close I came, Coffee Bean..."

_~o~_

_December 23, 2010..._

_I'd had the weirdest of days at Cullen-Denali, and my whole body and soul just fucking ached for Bella and ice cream – more the former than the latter. I'd become addicted to her feel, her taste – fuck, even her smell, which was flowers and fruity and seemed to stay on my skin way after I'd leave her bedroom at night._

_I was rushing out the door, when the front desk girl, Gina or Gianna or some shit, stopped me. "Hey, Edward," she called, batting her eyelashes at me._

_At one point, I would have taken her up on her flirting, but not now._

"_Are you going to the party tomorrow night?"_

"_Yeah, definitely," I answered, smiling and still trying to get to the elevator, but she stepped in front of me._

"_Do you have a date?" she purred, reaching up to straighten my tie._

"_Uh, um, yeah," I sighed, internally flinching, because I wanted to tell her that I was so taken, so owned by the girl I was bringing that it wasn't even fucking funny, but instead, my idiot self said, "My best friend, Bella, is coming with me."_

"_Best friend, huh?" She smirked, letting go of my tie. "You know, I've seen that ballroom before, Edward. You let me know if you need..._more_ than just a _friend_ tomorrow night, okay?"_

_By the time I'd ridden the elevator down to my car, driven home, and walked into the apartment, I felt gross and dirty, and wanted to lose myself in Bella just to make myself feel better. _

_I walked in the door, finding her in the kitchen in the middle of making dinner. Her sweet smile was my breaking point. I could barely say a word, except, "Bella."_

"_What's wron—"_

_I cut her off, just fucking claiming her mouth with mine. I wanted to just lay everything out on the line; it was all I could do not to just fall at her feet and beg her to let me love her the rest of my life. But instead, I picked her up, setting her on the kitchen counter and ravishing her mouth, all while stripping her and myself of every piece of clothing we had on._

"_Edward, what's wrong?" she groaned, wrapping her arms and legs around me._

"_I really just..._need_ you, Coffee Bean," I begged against the sweet, soft skin of her throat. "Please...please, let me."_

_She nodded against my cheek, placing a long, slow kiss to my jaw, and I was done for, slipping into her hard and fast._

"_Shit," she gasped, her head falling back and giving me just more of her to taste, kiss, nip at with my teeth. I wanted to fucking consume her._

_And God, Bella gave as good as she got, catching up to my mood almost immediately. Her hips met mine thrust for thrust, her hands gripped my shoulders and hair, and her mouth opened to mine as I tried to be everywhere at once with her._

"_God, Edward, I..." she groaned, burying her face in my neck as I nipped and licked at her shoulder._

"_I want...I fucking need..." I wanted to mark her. And I did, bending her back just a little and leaving the lightest of marks just below her breast._

_As my teeth scraped her skin, my Bean shattered in my arms, shaking from head to toe. Her shivering, her clenching around me, caused my control to slip, and I came hard as deep inside of her as I could get._

"_Bella, I lo..." I started, practically biting my tongue to the point of bringing blood in order not to say the words. "I'm sorry," I panted, my forehead hitting her shoulder. I turned my head and kissed her neck sweetly. _

"_I'm not," she giggled into my neck, running her fingers slowly through my hair. "How was your day, dear?"_

_I laughed, but helped her redress and make sure that I hadn't completely ruined her dinner. As she slipped her t-shirt back over her head, pride and lust filled me as I watched my mark being covered up. I couldn't tell her my feelings, but I could damn well stake my claim on her._

_~oOo~_

**BELLA**

May 2011...

I turned to see the most adorable of sights – my Edward on the floor, playing with Frankie. If it were any indication as to how perfect and silly a father he would be, then he was going to rock.

Taking an old shoestring, he dragged it across the floor, just to see Frankie run, stumble, and roll across the carpet, snagging the string with his claws. He would fall over, pulling in with his front claws and kicking out with his back, only for Edward to tug the string again and start all over. It was an endless game.

And if Frankie came to him for play time, he came to me to snuggle. That was never so apparent as the first day Edward and I had slept in the same room together. I had awoken to Edward's warm, strong arms around me, and Frankie nestled between us, purring so very loud with a face of pure happiness.

We'd been dating now since New Year's, and it was perfect. I'd moved my things into his room, turning my old bedroom into the guest room. Other than sharing a bed, bathroom, every thought we had concerning our relationship, and going out on the occasional date, nothing else had changed.

We were perfectly and weirdly the same.

Bad days still required ice cream. We still greeted each other with, "How was your day, dear?" We still lounged on the sofa to watch TV. Edward still worked out three times a week and ran every morning. I still worked at the publishing house, and he was doing a fine job in the advertising department of this father's company. And he still called me...

"Coffee Bean," he chuckled from the living room.

I'd stopped telling him not to call me that. It meant _more_ than just a little joke to me. It meant everything.

"Yeah, love?" I looked up from the vegetables that I was chopping to see his sweet face on the other side of the counter.

"What time can you get away tomorrow?" he asked, slipping onto the stool and stealing a cucumber slice.

"Um, probably around one, because I was only going to work a half day," I said, dumping all of the veggies into the salad bowl. "Why?"

"Well, I know that Alice and Jasper will want us early for the wedding practice and then dinner," he sighed with a one shoulder shrug.

Jasper had asked Alice to marry him a few weeks after New Year's Eve; he'd done it the day that he got the job with Edward at Cullen-Denali. We were both in the wedding – Maid of Honor and Best Man.

"Right." I nodded, pulling out bowls for the soup and salad and setting them in front of him. "Rose and I are supposed to go shopping together. Aren't you and Emmett taking Jazz out?"

"Yeah..." He grimaced, his face showing pure disgust.

"What?" I laughed, shaking my head. "Tell me that Em didn't con you into a strip club..."

His silence was his answer, and I laughed again. "Poor, baby," I teased, sitting down next to him and kissing his temple. "Poor thing has to endure scantily clad women wanting to sit on his lap."

"Oh, stop," he groaned. "The only scantily clad woman I want to see is you, Bean. How do I get out of it?"

"I'll write you a note," I giggled, squirming when he poked my ribs with a deep, sexy chuckle. "Eat," I told him. "We'll figure the rest out later."

Emmett and Rose had married a few months back. He now wanted to drag the other two boys down the same road of debauchery he'd been through. Edward had hated it then, and was in no mood to do it again.

"You know," I sighed, turning to face him. "We could just make the night about friends. I mean, just do everything together. Dinner, dancing, or drinking here...Alice would probably want to be with you, too. And we are in charge...Best Man, Maid of Honor..." I motioned between us. "What we say...goes!" I grinned, stirring my soup.

Edward eyed me, chewing his salad slowly. "You're a genius, you know that?"

"Edward," I snorted, rolling my eyes. "I'd rather spend the evening with everyone. It's a simple solution."

"I know, but..." He smirked, leaning in to kiss me quickly.

"I'm sure they'll all agree. Oh!" I said, pulling my purse to me. "I picked up Jasper's wedding band today. Did you need me to get Alice's while I'm out tomorrow?"

"No." His voice was quiet, subdued as he chewed, and he wasn't quite looking my way. "I got it already."

We were quiet as we finished dinner, and then I started to clean up.

"Leave those," he whispered with a smirk. "I want ice cream."

"Okay," I chuckled, grabbing the spoon.

He fell down onto the sofa, pulling me into his lap, and I fed him the usual first bite. "Mm, Neapolitan." He licked his lips, and I couldn't help but kiss him.

"Yeah, that was because I was unable to decide," I chuckled, taking my own bite.

He reached up and cupped my face, his thumbs stroking my cheek bones. "Do you...um... Do you know what today is?" He swallowed thickly, and I couldn't figure out what was making him nervous.

"Um, Thursday?" I guessed with a shrug.

"Well, yeah, Bella, but there's more to the _date_," he said, taking the bite I was offering him.

I froze, realizing it was May. "No," I breathed, looking at him with my mouth open as he nodded slowly. "Has it been a year?"

"Yeah," he said, looking a little ashamed about what he'd asked of me a full year ago. "I love you. You know that."

"I love you, too."

"I want...to change what today means," he whispered, pulling me in for a kiss. "Marry me, Coffee Bean."

With that, he pulled out a little box from his pocket.

"You're my best friend, and you'll always come first. I swear. You're my addiction and my reason for living, Bella. You're my Coffee Bean." He smiled so sweetly, because I was already nodding.

"Yeah," I breathed, almost unable to hear my own voice.

"Yeah?" he verified, wearing my favorite crooked smile.

"Definitely," I giggled, setting the ice cream down and kissing him with all that I had.

"I don't want anything big, and I don't want to tarnish Alice's big day, Bella, but I just really want to spend the rest of my life loving you..." he rambled as he placed a simple, but very beautiful ring on my finger.

"So we're keeping this to ourselves?" I teased, kissing his lips as he chuckled.

"Not for long. It's a good secret this time, Bean." He smiled, knowing I was just kidding him. The last secret hadn't been as wholesome as this one was.

"Yeah, but this one is harder to keep," I giggled, kissing him again. "Think we can keep it to ourselves this time?"

He smiled, kissed my ring, and gazed up at me. "After the last year, I think we can do anything we damn well want, Bella."

"It wasn't all bad, Edward... I didn't complain. Much..." I teased, wrapping my arms around his neck as his arms wrapped around my waist. "So really, if what you asked of me last year got me here...then...Happy Anniversary..."

He smiled, and it was heartbreakingly beautiful, reminding me of the boy I'd first met. "Good point. Happy Anniversary, then, Coffee Bean."

With that, I kissed him. I kissed him, because he was my best friend, and meant more to me than anyone else on earth. I kissed him, because he was trying to make up for something that he thought he should, but I'd never really held against him. I kissed him, because he just was too handsome to resist. And finally, I kissed him, because no one made me feel as happy and silly and comfortable and as beautiful as Edward Cullen.

~oOo~

**EDWARD**

_~o~_

_January 1, 2011..._

_Waking up with Bella in my arms for the first time was far better than I'd ever imagined it. She would snuggle in closer, her skin gliding along mine under the thick comforter of my bed. She slept peacefully, soundly in my arms, her head on my chest._

_Frankie was snuggled in with us, purring so happily, so loudly, that I was sure he'd wake her, but instead, it was me that did._

_I couldn't help my arousal, my kisses, my proclamations of love whispered in her ear. I couldn't stop from touching her face with my fingertips, or tangling my legs with hers._

_But the absolute best part...was those sleepy, sweet brown eyes opening up to gaze at me, the lazy, sexy smile that crept up her face, and the explorations that her little hands started._

_I knew at that _very fucking _moment, that I never wanted to wake up another way. I needed to wake up with Bella in my arms. I didn't know when or how, but I would make her mine forever._

"_Good morning," she purred, her hips grinding against mine, a sweet but so sexy whimper escaping her when I glided my very hard cock through her folds. "Aren't you the morning person?"_

_I chuckled, nuzzling her neck, all of our now sensual touches and movements sending Frankie from the bed. "I'm afraid that's your fault."_

"_How's that? I was sleeping."_

"_Hmm, yeah, but just touching you is another addiction, Coffee Bean..."_

"_Don't call..." She chuckled, rolling me on top of her. "Yeah...don't stop calling me that...ever." _

_~o~_

December 31, 2011...

I had to fight my smile with that memory, because it was totally at the most inopportune moment. But it truly was the moment I knew that I'd ask Bella to marry me.

I remember the first time I saw her; she was in jeans and a sweater, tugging a thick black coat off of her body in the lunch room of Forks High. I remember the day I knew I was following her to college; she was wearing sweat pants and a t-shirt, sitting on the floor of my sister's bedroom, deciding what to do for her birthday. And I remember the pajamas I peeled off of her the first time we ever made love.

Bella Swan was beautiful to me no matter what she had on.

But nothing beat the sight before me.

Bella was in front of me in creamy white, looking like a princess, or really, the queen that I thought her to be. She glowed as tears welled up in those deep, sweet brown eyes, as the words, "I do," echoed throughout the small room we'd reserved in the very hotel that she'd left me standing in front of over a year prior.

Our wedding was on the anniversary of the day I exclaimed to everyone that she was the only girl I'd ever loved. It was the truth then, and it would always be the truth.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I introduce to you...Mr. and Mrs. Edward Cullen."

~o~

"Dance with me, Bean," I nearly begged, taking her hand and leading her out onto the dance floor. "Did I tell you that you're the prettiest girl here?"

She giggled, taking my hand and placing her other on my shoulder. "Hmm, that sounds like the same line you used on me the last time we were on this dance floor."

I chuckled, shaking my head, but couldn't resist leaning in for a small kiss. "It was true then, and... My God, it's true now, Bella."

"Thank you, Edward." She blushed, but she was glowing with happiness. "Well, you certainly look handsome. Beats those old ripped jeans you used to have."

"I still haven't forgiven my mother for throwing them away," I sighed dramatically.

"Edward," she snorted, rolling her eyes. "Why on earth did you have such an attachment to those damn jeans?"

"Because," I chuckled, kissing her again, "every time I wore them, you'd make the hole bigger..."

"Shit," she sighed, shaking her head, but looked up at me sweetly. "I love you."

"Love you, too, Coffee Bean."

~oO The End? Oo~

* * *

**A/N...There you go... It was a super sweet HEA, starting out fairly sad...and it's over...but _wait_...**

**I want to say that ****KyuketsukiInOki** **thinks she's SOOOO smart! LMAO But she's right and I love her for it...I'm not completely willing to let these two go. So here's what we're gonna do.**

**I am totally willing to write outtakes for this story. Now, I can't stop my Angel Series, because I'd have a riot on my hands, but I'm not opposed to adding to this story. It will be marked as complete, because it **_**is **_**technically done. And you have the basis of their whole story, their whole lives. **

**But the question is... What more do you want to hear? **

**Yeah, this is a way to get reviews from you quiet little readers out there, and there's no stopping my usual loud group of people...God, I love you all...so I want to know what part that you want more of... For example:**

**Do you want more high school? Or want to know why Renee wasn't around? Or for those beautiful, wicked perverted people – whom I adore! – do you want more lemons from those 7 months of friends w/ benefits? Do you want to know where they went on their honeymoon? Do you want a future take...however, these aren't always easy for me, because writing an old Edward is just...ugh? How about the story of the day Edward moved in with Bella? OR... do you want to hear the angsty shit when Bella was dating Jake or James or Edward was with Victoria, Irina, or even Lauren... OR...would you like to hear the Coffee Bean story? (Okay, so this one may be my first one)**

**I'm willing to listen to any suggestions, and I know some of you... hem, hem... can't be quiet anyway(especially my awesome peeps on Twitter...come play with us), so talk to me. And have patience, but I'm totally willing to write more on these two. PLEASE keep in mind, I only write in Edward and Bella's POV's... so Frankie's POV is out of the question. Besides, he truly exists, and wouldn't appreciate me putting words in his mouth! ;) In fact, he was involved in this little story in a supervisory level...**

**Like I said, I have my big project, and this was a little break from that, but I would love to continue it... **

**Thanks to JenRar for beta'ing this so very quickly. **

**Again...Happy New Year...and thank you for following this little deviation from my normal routine. And for my AP readers...yeah, yeah...I'm getting to it! o_O **

**Let me hear from you, really. I'll read every last one of the reviews...and if I decide to use your idea, then I will credit you and let you know first... Love you all... Later...**


	4. Outtake 1  Coffee Bean

**A/N...Hey there! So this is the first of a few outtakes I have planned for this little story. This is more of the past – high school, the story of how Bella got the name Coffee Bean. So enjoy. **

**It's sort of fluffy...with a squeeze of citrus, but as always the characters belong to SM...but the idea is all mine.**

**

* * *

**

**I Shall Believe**

**Outtake #1: "Coffee Bean"**

**~oOo~**

**EDWARD**

**~oOo~**

June 2005...

I watched Lauren pull her shirt back on, stepping around the bed to crawl up next to me.

"Kiss me again, Edward," she begged with a sexy smirk, straddling my bare stomach. "I'm leaving for a month. My parents want to spend the summer at our lake house."

I kissed her, knowing exactly what she was going to say next, because she'd been alluding to it ever since school let out for the summer. This was the last time I would get laid for some time.

She licked her lips, staring at my mouth. "Come with me. My parents know about us. My mother totally is cool about it. We're both eighteen, Edward... Please?"

I cringed internally. A month away from home, Alice, Emmett, and...God, Bella. A month with _Lauren_ away from home. No thank you. She was already grating on my nerves, and we'd only been seeing each other since the beginning of the year.

Though the sex was good, she was so shallow. She was so worried about what people thought, how we looked together, what I wore in public. She hated my sister and friends.

I sighed, shaking my head. "You know I can't, Lauren," I told her, shifting her off of my lap.

I stood up, pulled on my boxers, and turned to see her unbelievably immature pout as she snapped, "Can't? Or don't want to?"

I fought my frustration, shrugging. "My parents wouldn't let me," I lied to her smoothly, because in all reality, my parents knew nothing about it. I hadn't even mentioned it. "Emmett and I have plans to go camping, Alice wants to hit Seattle for that concert. We have the tickets already. I can't, babe. I'm sorry."

"Is _she_ going?"

"Who?" I asked stupidly, knowing her jealousy of Bella was intense.

"Bella, you ass! You know who I'm talking about!"

"She's my sister's best friend. Of course she's going," I scoffed, waving a hand at her.

"You would rather spend the summer in Forks with the dork patrol and that Neanderthal, Emmett, than spend four weeks on a lake, swimming, cookouts, and July Fourth fireworks," she scoffed, rolling her eyes and hopping off the bed to quickly pull her jeans on.

"What have I told you about calling my sister and Bella names, Lauren?" I snapped, my temper on a short leash as I grabbed her arm. Emmett acted like a Neanderthal most of the time, so he wouldn't have even been offended at her remark.

"Whatever," she growled, yanking out of my grasp. "You need to pick, Edward. You're too good for them. You spend way too much time with that brainiac, Bella!"

I laughed, really laughed, because Bella and I had almost the same grade point average. In fact, we were just about in every advanced class coming up our senior year, which I was totally looking forward to.

"We're friends, and be careful what you say. I mean it," I told her, my voice sounding more menacing than I intended.

"It's me or them, Edward. I can't do this anymore. Bella Swan sees you more than I do. You won't invite me to your house, and she fucking spends the night! I swear there's more to that than you're telling me," she said, pointing her finger at me.

I sighed, reaching for my jeans, tugging them on, and pulling my shirt over my head. I needed to get out of there. Lauren's irrational jealousy over Bella was driving me crazy, and it had only gotten worse the longer we stayed together.

"I'm outta here," I growled, grabbing my sneakers. "She spends the night with Alice, babe. And we can't exactly do this at my house, because my mother is always home! Seriously...it's like you don't trust me."

I was just about to her door, when she stopped me. "I mean it, Edward. You either pick me or Bella."

"She's one of my best friends, Lauren. There's nothing to worry about," I told her, but my heart completely constricted at the thought of having to pick. "I'm not choosing, because it's a ridiculous request."

"It's not ridiculous. I'm not stupid, Edward. I see how you laugh with her. The way you fucking look at her. Pick, damn it!" Lauren's eyes filled with tears.

"Please, don't do this, babe. Please?" I begged her, rubbing my hands up and down her arms, but she wouldn't uncross them from over her chest. She just waited for my answer. "I'm not choosing. I mean, I can't. Alice is my fucking _twin_, Lauren. Don't you get it?"

"And Bella?" she sobbed, looking at my chest and not my eyes.

I flinched, thinking I'd hidden my attraction of Bella better than that, but I must have been wrong. Bella was smart and beautiful and made me laugh. I looked forward to hanging out with her, laughing with her, studying with her, watching TV with her. And the thought of not seeing that everyday, of trading it in for Lauren...I couldn't do it. I couldn't shun her that way. Though she knew how Lauren felt about her and wouldn't be surprised, I couldn't hurt Bella in any way.

"She's my friend," I sighed, taking a step back. "I'm sorry." I shrugged, not knowing what else to say, because I couldn't lose my friends or my sister...sex life be damned.

"Get out," she whispered, her tears finally spilling down over her cheeks. "Get out, Edward!"

**~oOo~**

**BELLA**

**~oOo~**

July 2005...

"What time do we need to get to the show?" I asked as we walked around the little shopping area in Seattle.

"Not for another hour or so," Alice said, looping her arm through mine as we walked behind Edward and Emmett, who were talking about sports or cars or girls or some nonsense that we tried to ignore.

"Good," I sighed, pulling her closer. "Then can we get coffee or something? This rain is freezing. Edward? Em?"

"Yeah, Bella," he said, stopping and turning to us. "You're cold?"

"A little, so can we stop at Starbucks?"

"Sure, Bells," Emmett grinned, his dimples shining sweetly on the big boy's face.

"Here, you wuss," Edward teased, shirking out of his hoodie. "Put this on until we get you something, okay?"

"Thanks," I chuckled, pulling on the most divine smelling article of clothing ever made. "You warmed it up for me..."

He rolled his eyes, tugging the hood up over my head. "I do what I can to make your life easier, Bella."

We passed a few more shops, before we finally came to Starbucks. The entire time, I was relishing the smell of that sweatshirt. It smelled just like Edward, like cologne and sandalwood and leather and just _him_. It smelled like his room and his car, and I wanted to bathe in it.

"Come on," Edward chuckled, holding the door open. "Let's get you warmed up."

"Thanks," I said again, pushing the hood off of my head and my heart skipping a beat when he gave me that crooked, sweet smile of his.

"Yeah, sure. What do you want? I'll get it. You two can grab a table," he said, waving my money away when I told him what I wanted.

Alice and I found a spot in the corner and sat down. We talked about the concert we were seeing that night, what songs we hoped to hear, and how hot the lead singer was.

"Is Lauren meeting us?" I asked Alice, who just shrugged.

"I don't think so," she giggled, shaking her head. "She's with her parents at the lake house for another two weeks. I think they extended their stay until just before school starts."

"Okay," I said, dragging out the word. "Well, Edward hasn't mentioned her at all."

Alice just shrugged one tiny shoulder, playing with her phone.

When the boys finally joined us, they were laughing their asses off.

"Damn, Bells," Emmett guffawed, shaking his head. "I couldn't find you. Wanna know why?"

"Why, dork? We've been sitting here the whole time," I snorted, looking between them.

"Because your hair is the same color as the poster of coffee beans right behind you. When your head was turned, I couldn't see you at all!" he laughed, handing me my latte.

I snorted, looking behind me. There was a huge poster advertising bags of coffee, and the bottom was a spilled bag. Alice picked up a strand and held it up to the poster.

"Damn," I sighed, rolling my eyes.

"Matches your eyes, too," Edward chuckled, shaking his head, and when I looked up at him, he quickly found his coffee much more interesting.

"Bells looks like coffee beans," Emmett sang, doing some strange dance in his seat, like the idiot that I'd come to love.

"Shut it, Em," I sighed, turning to Edward. "Here, Edward. You can have this back."

I started to remove the sweatshirt, even though it killed me to do so.

He just held up a hand. "Just...keep it. It suits you," he mumbled, his brow furrowing for just a moment. "Coffee Bean," he snorted, which sent Emmett into another rendition of his song.

"Don't call me that!" I growled, unable not to laugh when it caused him to smile the way he was.

There was nothing as beautiful as Edward's smile – maybe his laugh, but it was a close call.

"Sorry, Bella," he laughed, holding his hand out for me. "Let's get to the arena, Bean."

I rolled my eyes at their laughter, but let him help me up. "Thanks, _Eddie_," I growled, knowing he hated that nickname.

He chuckled, shaking his head, and threw his arm around my shoulder. "Anytime, Coffee Bean."

**~oOo~**

**EDWARD**

**~oOo~**

July 2005...

"Where the hell are they?" Emmett sighed, looking around at all the tables.

If it hadn't been for Bella's sweet laugh, I wouldn't have spotted her either. "Right over there," I said, pointing to the booth in the corner.

"Damn, Bells," Emmett laughed, drawing attention from everyone around us. "I couldn't find you. Wanna know why?"

"Why, dork? We've been sitting here the whole time," she snorted, narrowing her eyes at him. They argued like siblings sometimes.

"Because your hair is the same color as the poster of coffee beans right behind you. When your head was turned, I couldn't see you at all!" he laughed, setting her drink in front of her.

My head snapped up when my sister giggled and held a lock of Bella's hair up to the poster behind her. The entire thing was filled with coffee beans, a sign showing that you could buy beans to grind at home. Proof that the addiction to coffee knew no bounds.

Addiction. I sighed to myself, taking a sip of my cappuccino.

My relationship with Lauren was completely over. She'd called several times while at her parents' lake house, the last time being the worst. She was so upset – her parents had decided to stay longer.

_~o~_

_A few days before the concert..._

"_Come on, Bella. We can beat them," I told her, tossing the football to her as Emmett pass rushed me. She caught the ball beautifully, dodging Alice's outstretched hands and dancing to the end of the yard. "Yes!" I cheered, pumping a fist into the air._

_My phone rang, and I pulled it out of my pocket, groaning when I saw the name pop up on the screen. Bella ran to me, an amazing smile brightening her face, just as I answered. "That's my girl," I chuckled, giving her a high five. "Hello?" I said into the phone._

"_Edward?"_

"_Yeah, Lauren," I sighed, walking away from the rest of them as Emmett showed Bella and Alice proper endzone scoring dances._

"_Who's your girl?" she growled into the phone._

"_We're playing football, Lauren," I groaned, rolling my eyes. "Bella just got a touchdown."_

"_Whatever. You really are an asshole, you know that? Did you cheat on me with her?"_

"_What? No! Babe, calm down. I'd never cheat. What are you calling me for? You kicked me to the curb, remember?"_

"_I thought we could talk this over, but I see now it's useless. Is it worth it, Edward?" she sobbed, her voice muffling just a bit. "Tell me."_

_I looked down the yard, watching Bella and Alice bump hips with Emmett, all of them laughing and smiling. I couldn't help but snort, shaking my head. Bella's head shot up, and our eyes met for just a moment. She waved me to her, tossing the ball in the air and catching it. She was so beautiful, and my heart constricted as I realized that I wanted more than friendship from her, but I knew I had to wait a bit. I needed to ease Alice into it...but I wasn't sure if I could fight my feelings for much longer._

"_Yeah..." I sighed, turning away from Bella for just a moment. "Yeah...it's over Lauren. If you could tell me what friends I can and can't have, then we shouldn't be together."_

"_Fuck you, Edward!" she snapped, and the line went dead._

_~o~_

"Damn," Bella sighed, rolling her eyes at just how close a match those beans were to her hair, but I saw something else.

"Matches your eyes, too," I blurted out without thinking, because that shit was close, but I truly realized was the analogy was more for the addiction that I had for her.

She looked up at me, and I forced my gaze away from her, because suddenly, I felt hot and uncomfortable at just how much I needed Bella in my life. Lauren had just made me see it more clearly.

She started to hand me back my hoodie, and I stopped her, because just for one moment, for _one_ _damn night_, I wanted her to wear something of mine. I wanted to stake my claim to her, even if it was just in my head.

"Keep it...it suits you," I mumbled, thinking I needed to snap out of it soon. I needed to turn the whole thing around, or Alice would be upset, and I couldn't have that, either. I smiled, thinking Bella needed a new nickname. "Coffee Bean," I teased, tugging her by the hand as they all laughed.

"Don't call me that," she said, but I could see the smile, the gleam in her eye. Somehow, I wasn't quite sure she minded it.

**~oOo~**

April 2006...

"Dammit!" I growled, tossing my backpack onto my bed after kicking my door closed. I fell down next to it onto my back, groaning in frustration.

Lauren was still picking fights; now her friends were picking on my friends. My attraction to Bella was at an all time high, and Emmett had just basically threatened to rip my nuts off if I even thought about asking Bella to the prom. I was so fucked, because Alice wouldn't even hear of me asking Bella to prom, either.

Emmett had called me a whore, because he totally believed all that shit that Lauren and her bitchy friends were spewing. God, I was far from that.

Yeah, I took Jessica out once or twice, and yeah, we fooled around a bit, but I couldn't do more than that. I didn't really like her like that, but I'd needed to feel normal, needed to feel wanted for just one damn second.

I closed my eyes, exhausted from the day and my feelings and just every damn thing, falling asleep almost instantly.

There was a soft knock on my door as I lifted my tired ass up from my bed. "Come in," I said with a yawn, my heart stopping when Bella walked in.

I wanted to groan. She was wearing one of my track t-shirts and a pair of sleep shorts. Her hair was down and tucked behind her ears, her legs were long and smooth, and her eyes were dark, like the sweetest of chocolates.

"Hey, Bean," I said, smiling as she closed the door behind her. "Where's Alice?"

"Sleeping," she whispered, walking to me.

I looked at the clock, seeing it was one in the morning. I must've been exhausted, because I'd slept for hours.

"We missed you at dinner, but you didn't answer your door, Edward," she said, standing right in front of me.

"Damn," I sighed. "Was Mom pissed?" She shook her head slowly. "What's the matter, Coffee Bean? You look upset."

"I'm not," she said, stepping between my legs. "And don't call me that," she said with a smirk as she pushed me back down onto my back.

"Bella..." I gasped as she crawled up my body, straddling my now very interested dick.

"I want you, Edward," she pleaded, bracing her arms on each side of my head.

"You do?"

"God, yes," she whispered, "and I know you want me. I see how you watch me. How you stare at me, Edward. What do you stare at?"

"Everything, Bean," I sighed, almost in relief that she knew, and suddenly, my hands were out of my control. I gripped her waist, turning us over so that she was under me, her hair spilling out around her on my comforter. "You're so fucking beautiful, Bella, and you don't even know it," I groaned, brushing her hair out of her face.

"Show me."

Two simple words, and I snapped, kissing her with all that I had. We were a frenzy of lost control. My shirt, her shirt, my jeans, and her shorts all flew around my bedroom. I cupped her breasts, my thumbs brushing over her rosy nipples. Leaning down, I took one of them into my mouth, and she tasted as sweet as she looked.

"I stare at these," I whispered, blowing my breath across them, smirking when they perked up even more. "I stare at this," I growled, cupping her ass with one hand and lifting her just enough to grind against her heated core. And fuck, the heat! I could feel her wetness coating my dick, and I twitched against her. "I want to know what you feel like, Bean..."

I found myself on my back, looking up at a sight I thought I'd never see.

"Fuck, Bean," I moaned when she ground her hips down onto my now throbbing cock. "I want you, too. I've wanted you forever...it's why I'm not with Lauren anymore, Bella."

She smiled, leaning down over me and kissing me softly. "I know," she said against my lips, shifting just right that my dick slipped just inside of her.

As she sat up to take me completely in, a loud pounding sounded at my door.

I snapped awake, wincing at the throbbing hard on I had. I looked over at the clock and saw that it was on six in the evening. Fuck, it had been just a dream!

"Yeah?" I rasped, adjusting my dick, but it wouldn't be tamed – it wanted to finish my dream. It wanted Bella, damn it.

"Edward?" Bella called, cracking the door, and I grabbed my pillow and pulled it to my lap. "Your mom sent me up to call you for dinner. And Alice and I want to know if you wanna hit the movies. It's Friday..."

Friday was the night she always spent with Alice. Bella's father, Charlie, worked the over night shift at the station on the weekends, so my Bean practically lived here.

I took a deep breath, looking up at her. She looked so sweet, so expectant. She had no idea that I'd just molested the hell out of her in my dream.

"Um, yeah...sure. Let me grab a shower, Coffee Bean. Okay? Tell Mom I'll be down in a sec."

"Okay," she sang, smiling. "And don't call me that!"

I chuckled as she shut the door, loving that joke between us, but knowing it represented more than just the color of her eyes and hair.

Coffee was addicting. My Coffee Bean – she was my ultimate addiction. So much so, that I was following her to UW. And I couldn't fucking wait.

**~oOo~**

**BELLA**

**~oOo~**

June 2006...Graduation from Forks High...

"So...Edward and Emmett are gonna live on campus, and we move into our apartment in August!" Alice's excitement was almost electrical as she bounced around on the way out of the school gym.

We'd just gotten our diplomas, walked down the aisle, and thrown our caps in the air. There were people everywhere, and we'd lost sight of Edward, Emmett, and our parents.

"Come on, Ali," I chuckled, taking her hand. "Let's get outside by Edward's car. They'll be out soon enough."

"You're totally laughing at me," she pouted, leaning against Edward's Volvo.

"No," I laughed, holding my hands up. "I'm not. I swear. It's just...surreal that we've graduated."

"Oh, I know..." she gushed, blathering on and on in my ear, but I suddenly couldn't hear her.

Edward and Emmett were strolling out of the gym, with all parents in tow. Edward's robe was open, flowing behind him like a cloak, his hair was sticking up everywhere as usual, but it was the laughing smile that made my breath catch. What made it even more breathtaking was that it was aimed my way.

"Bean! We did it!" Emmett gushing rushing toward me, but I squeaked, dodging his huge arms.

I bolted around the car with him hot on my trail, only to fly behind Edward for protection.

"Don't break her, Em," Edward growled, pushing him away. "You're safe, Coffee Bean. The giant troll only wanted a hug, though."

"Whatever. The last time he did that, I think he fractured my rib," I sighed, peeking from around him. "And don't call me that."

Edward snorted, "It was merely separated, Bean."

"Come on, kids," Esme chuckled. "Humor your parents for dinner, and then you can all party in ways we don't want to hear about."

"No kidding," my dad, Charlie, chuckled. "This is the worst night for me, Bells. So give us dinner, and then you guys can increase our gray hair percentage."

I laughed, shaking my head. "Gray hair can be distinguished, Dad."

"Hmph," he growled, rolling his eyes at me.

"Besides, Charlie, we're not partying all that much. Like one or two," Alice beamed, linking her arm with his. "And then back to our house."

"Best news I've heard all day," Carlisle sighed.

They were afraid we'd go out and get trashed, but we just weren't like that. We enjoyed each other more than anyone else. Including Lauren, who just happened to sashay by at that very moment, giving Edward another unusual look.

I couldn't quite tell if she still liked him, or if she hated him. The things she'd said about me didn't phase me one bit, but she picked on Emmett and Alice something awful. That I couldn't have. And she'd been doing it since senior year started.

"Don't forget, party at Tyler's, Edward," she said, making sure the invitation extended just to Edward.

He snorted and looked away, shaking his head. "No thanks," he sighed under his breath, letting us into his car. "Come on, Coffee Bean. We'll do this right, huh?" he said, holding the passenger side door for me.

"Don't call me that," I laughed, but I was laughing at Lauren's face. She looked like he'd just slapped her.

**~oOo~**

We didn't go to Tyler's party, but that wasn't our last run in with Lauren and her bitch patrol. We pulled into Eric Yorkie's driveway, and I groaned, seeing them cross the yard.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Alice growled from the backseat.

"Relax, everyone," Emmett chuckled. "I got this. Come on."

He grabbed Alice's hand and tugged her out of the back. But I just couldn't find the courage to deal with them.

"Last party, Bean, I promise," Edward sighed, looking over at me from behind the wheel. "I'm...sorry they treat you the way they do."

"It's not your fault, Edward," I told him, turning my head to look at him, but from the look on his face, he didn't believe me. "I know they hate me. It goes way back, you know. Before you and Alice moved here."

"Yeah, but..." he started, his frown marring his beautiful face. "...she's still mad about our break up, Bean."

"It's almost over," I said, trying to smile encouragingly at him. "She's off to California next year."

"Thank God," he sighed with utter relief, and his hand went straight to his hair, messing it up deliciously.

I giggled at him, loving the sweet crooked smile he gave me. "We have to do this."

"I know." He swallowed thickly. "How 'bout this... Why don't we go in together. That way, no one bugs us."

"You mean..._together_ together? Like a date?"

"A fake date, but it will keep everyone away. I won't let go of your hand all night, Coffee Bean. I won't let them get to you."

I studied his face and nodded. I couldn't be safer than I was when I was with him, and he was right. They didn't bother me when he was around.

"'Kay," I breathed, and he was out of the car in a instant. He opened my door for me, holding out his hand. "Just tell me there's ice cream at your house."

"Just for you, Bean," Edward laughed, linking our fingers together. "Mom bought it today...um, Cookie Dough, or some shit."

"Perfect," I sighed, letting him guide me to the front door of the house.

I didn't date. It was a known fact among my peers before Edward and Alice moved to Forks. It was worse when they arrived, because I couldn't see myself with anyone but Edward, but I tried. I didn't _dare_ date anyone from school, so I went on one date with a son of one of my dad's deputies.

Sam had been kind, but we both knew that we were being set up, and we both knew that it wasn't ever going to amount to anything other than what it was – one date.

But my fake date with Edward was amazing. He was so sweet, so kind, making sure that I wasn't harassed or hit on or offered a drink with something in it. He sat with me, laughing and drinking, and he held my hand the entire time.

I allowed my one fantasy to come out for one night. I melted into him when he asked me to dance, and I let him bring me food. I leaned into him when we sat down and his arm snaked around me. And I laughed when he and Emmett talked incessantly about UW and all the things the four of us were going to do.

I lost myself, wishing more than anything that he'd kiss me when the night was over. Just walked up to me, pressing me into his car and assaulting my mouth with his. God, the things I would do to him – run my fingers through his hair, hitch my leg around his waist, taste him. Damn, what I wouldn't give to taste him, because if he tasted as good as he smelled, I would never stop.

"Coffee Bean," Edward whispered, kneeling in the car doorway. "We're home. Let's get you to bed, huh?"

"'Kay," I yawned, letting him pick me up and carry me in to Alice's room. "We were gonna eat ice cream."

His sweet chuckle met my ear. "We'll eat ice cream tomorrow, Bella."

"Promise?" I mumbled into his neck, delirious from being woken up so harshly.

"I will always eat ice cream with you, Coffee Bean. Always," he whispered, and I swore just before I fell into the deep abyss of sleep, that his lips met my forehead.

* * *

**A/N... Like I said...a little fluffy, but this little story is pretty fluffy anyway. Their love has always been there, they just...avoided it, had obstacles thrown in their path, and didn't want to lose a good thing...**

**Ah...the ice cream... So you can see the start of things to come...filling in as dates, ice cream, Bella wearing Edward's shirts. And of course, Coffee Bean. It all kind of fell into place for Edward at that moment, but Lauren made life fairly difficult for everyone, causing Emmett to be protective.**

**Okay...so most of you gave your opinion the on the last chapter as to what outtakes you'd like to see, and I kinda kept a tally of them. I'd already told you this was first, but those of you that are kinda perverted like me...and God I love you for it...wanted some lemony outtakes from the 7 months that they were friends with benefits. And I totally agree, so that will most likely be the next outtake on this story. After that, you wanted a bit of future takes...honeymoon...maybe kids... My pre-reader, Reeny, begs for babies every time I write an AH story, so it didn't come as a shock that she did it this time...her favorite being Charles Garrett from _Nature of Love_. **

**Anyway...I digress...**

**Outtakes...there will be a few more, but the next one will be lemony...just FYI. SOME of you were curious as to how the two of them dated when the person they loved lived right across the damn living room, so yeah, I'll be exploring that in the future as well. **

**I have no schedule for posting on this...because my Angel series readers would have my HEAD if I even thought about putting that on hold. Especially now, since we're so close to the end of _An Angel's Promise_. LOL I hear you...don't start with me! O_o**

**Come play with us on Twitter...you can look me up under Drotuno. I give update notices and usually answer just about any question thrown my way...**

**Thanks to JenRar for beta'ing this for me on the fly... Love you with HUGE smooches! :D**

**Okay, review for me...I'd like to know if this answered any questions or filled in some blanks for you...or just damn well wanted more from these two...cuz they are kind of addicting. Okay...review...and until next time, Later...**


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